MH17: TEN YEARS LATER, ARE THE SKIES ANY SAFER? - Ten years ago, on July 17, 2014, Malaysia Airlines passenger flight MH17 was downed by a Russian-made surface-to-air missile over Russian-controlled eastern Ukraine. In the years following the ongoing international investigation, the Kremlin has continued to deny its involvement in the downing of the aircraft, and its breach of international law, despite evidence that the surface-to-air missile system used to down the plane was supplied directly from Russia.

For the past decade the MH17 anniversary has continued to come and go without justice for the victims and their families. The downing of MH17 was an act international aggression that occurred just months after Russia’s “annexation” of Ukraine’s Crimean Peninsula, an act which was met with a toothless response by the West, and no military aid. But at least the shootdown prompted the EU to join the US in imposing serious sanctions on Moscow for its military intervention in Donbas.

The ten-year anniversary is a good time to look back on the shoot-down and its continuing relevance to our understanding of Moscow’s war on Ukraine. The Atlantic Council’s Eurasia Center gathers a panel of experts for a discussion.

ORIGINAL AIRDATE: 07/17/2024