Dutch court sentences three to life in prison for 2014 downing of MH17 over Ukraine

FILE PHOTO: A general view of the courtroom where the MH17 trial of three Russians and a Ukrainian is taking place as it enters a new stage where families of victims of the MH17 plane crash give testimony in Badhoevedorp, Netherlands, September 6, 2021. REUTERS/Piroschka van de Wouw

AMSTERDAM (Reuters) - Dutch judges convicted two Russian men and a Ukrainian man in absentia of murder for their role in the shooting down of Flight MH17 over Ukraine in 2014 with the loss of 298 passengers and crew, and handed them life sentences.

Ukraine welcomed the ruling, which will have implications for other court cases Kyiv has filed against Russia, while Moscow called the ruling "scandalous" and said it would not extradite its citizens.