The world remembers the victims of the Boeing shot down over Ukraine

Memorial services are held around the world on the occasion of the first anniversary of the crash of the MH17 flight, shot down a year ago in the skies over Ukraine, as a result of which all 298 people who were on board the aircraft were killed.

In Grabov, a Ukrainian village closest to the crash site, around 200, residents gathered at the church for a memorial service and went on a procession to the newly opened memorial plaque to commemorate the wreck victims.

Gathered, mostly women and children, carried flowers and icons. According to the Associated Press, along the way they were guarded by armed men in Soviet military uniforms.

Memorial events were held in Holland, the citizens of which were the majority of the victims. State flags were lowered, and people brought flowers to the airport, from where the plane departed.

In the Dutch city of Newwegain, there is also a ceremony where relatives and friends should read out the names of 193 dead citizens of the country aloud.

A Malaysian Airlines Boeing-777 plane that flew from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur crashed in the Donetsk region of Ukraine on 17 last July.

From a Western perspective, there is ample evidence that the plane was shot down by a Buk missile launcher that Russia provided to pro-Russian militias in eastern Ukraine. Russia denies this.

"298 innocent people"

In Australia, the 39 commemoration ceremony for the dead citizens of the country has already taken place. A memorial plaque with the names of the victims was also opened in the Canberra Parliament garden.

The memorial was installed on the ground brought from Ukraine by an Australian policeman.

Australian MPs broke off their winter holidays to return to Canberra for the commemoration of the dead.

“There were 298 innocent people on board that plane, and our sense of justice refuses to accept their deaths,” Prime Minister Tony Abbott said before the ceremony.

Australian Foreign Minister Julie Bishop said the international community was determined to hold those responsible accountable.

In Malaysia, relatives and friends of the victims gathered at a memorial ceremony in Kuala Lumpur to commemorate the anniversary of the disaster last week.

This is due to the fact that the anniversary of the tragedy falls on the celebration of the end of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan.