The aftermath of the downing of Malaysia Airlines flight MH17 was a landscape of carnage and chaos. In the end, presumably when Putin was told the missile system had come from Russia, the Kremlin chose to deny all involvement. Domestically, the propaganda worked: a survey found more than 80% of Russians believed Ukraine had shot down the plane. It is likely nobody involved in the shooting down of MH17 will ever spend a day in prison. But the court case will still be important, as the start of a process of closure, first and foremost for the relatives of the victims.

Source: The Guardian June 19, 2019 13:09 UTC