The special court in Amsterdam sentenced Russian citizens Igor Girkin , Sergei Dubinsky and Ukrainian Leonid Kharchenko to life imprisonment - all tried in absentia - for their decisive role in the downing of flight MH17, which occurred in 2014, during the overflight of the Lugansk , Ukrainian territory already claimed by Russia by then, where separatist militias operated.

The Malaysia Airlines plane, departed from Amsterdam and bound for Kuala Lumpur,   it had 283 passengers , mostly Dutch, and 15 crew on board when it was hit by the Russian BUK missile .

The three, according to the court, played a major part in transporting it from a military base in Russia to the launch site.

The fourth suspect - Russian citizen Oleg Pulatov - was cleared due to lack of evidence .

The ruling provides that the three convicted must pay together 16 million euros plus interest to the relatives of the victims.

(Unioneonline/vf)