The Prime Minister of the Netherlands assured that even 10 years after the plane crash, “the wounds have not healed,” but new war crimes by the Russians have been added.

Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte has promised imminent punishment for Russian war criminals for the downing of the civilian MH-17 aircraft in 2014. According to an correspondent from Kharkov, Rutte said this during the signing of a security agreement with Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky.

“The wounds of July 17, 2014 have not yet healed. We are united with the Ukrainians in our grief, because Ukrainians are also now losing their loved ones. The MH-17 tragedy has strengthened our connection with you. We are actively working to ensure that all those responsible war crimes ended up in a tribunal in The Hague. Peace and justice must prevail,” Rutte said.

As President Zelensky added, the city of Kharkov was specifically chosen for signing the Agreement on Security Guarantees with the Netherlands, because it was from here that the Dutch received the bodies of relatives who died during the MH-17 disaster 10 years ago.

“We are together in Kharkov today. This is symbolic. It was from Kharkov in 2014 that the bodies of the dead MH-17 were returned, most of whom were citizens of the Netherlands. Entire families died then. Just like Ukrainians are dying now. Terror knows no borders, so it is important to confront it together “, said the President of Ukraine.

How the security agreement was signed in Kharkov

On March 1, Ukraine signed a historic security agreement with the Netherlands. It regulates military, financial and other assistance from the Dutch government to Ukraine.

The central points of the document are the supply of weapons from the Netherlands (F-16 aircraft, artillery systems, etc.), financial support, assistance with the European integration of Ukraine and the creation of a tribunal to punish war criminals from the Russian Federation.

On January 31, the International Court of Justice recognized only isolated violations by Russia of the UN Convention for the Prevention of the Financing of Terrorism, since it did not investigate the financing of pro-Russian separatists in Donbass, who directly shot down the MH-17 plane.

The head of the State Criminal Investigation Department of Ukraine, Kirill Budanov, called this court decision “a disgrace to the international judicial system,” as well as “a mistake and a disaster.”