MH17: A year on from tragedy, the day of truth may soon come

The Dutch wheels of inquiry appear to be moving, if a little too slowly for some of the relatives of those who died

A photo taken on July 23, 2014 shows the crash site of the downed Malaysia Airlines flight MH17, in a field near the village of Grabove, in the Donetsk region. (AFP/Getty)

On a hillside an hour or so outside of Donetsk, men equipped with stretchers, body bags and green rubber gloves were doing the best they could. The wreckage and debris from MH17 had scattered far and wide, and so had the remains of the 298 crew and passengers. Some of the bodies were intact; many were not.

In the fields now littered with personal possessions – clothes, documents, pink soft toys – the men did what they could. The people of the village of Grabove watched, somewhat frightened and most certainly bewildered.

“[The plane] moved right, it moved left,” 71-year-old Najejda Ivanava, who had four gold teeth and was wearing her house slippers, told The Independent at the time. “There were sparks flying out from it... We dived on to the floor.”

The villagers had no idea who or what was responsible for bringing down the plane and at once turning their fields into a crash location, a crime scene and perhaps a burial ground. They watched quietly while men under the control of rebel forces did their work. It was hot, and when the breeze picked up it carried the odour of death.

In the days that followed, many of those same local people voiced the news that was broadcast by Russian media, dismissing the allegations of the West and instead blaming Ukrainian forces. When it was pointed out that the rebels had been electronically heard discussing their apparent error, they said it was just Western propaganda.

In the 12 months since then, there has been no shortage of accusation and counter accusation levelled by both sides. Vladimir Putin, aware of his closeness to the rebels, has been unable for domestic political reasons to distance himself from them.

Meanwhile, many in West used the incident as a proxy means of seeking to put pressure on the Russian leader. He has not cracked. Indeed, if anything, he has dug in, cemented his position.

Should anyone be surprised that a year after the plane tore into the hillsides, that there is still no acknowledgement or admission as to who was responsible for this awful crime?

Probably not, the stakes are just too high. But the Dutch wheels of inquiry appear to be moving, if a little too slowly for some of the relatives of those who died.

A day of reckoning may not be far off.

Andrew Buncombe reported from Ukraine for ‘The Independent’ a year ago