The Kremlin has always denied any responsibility for the air disaster. All 298 people on board the passenger plane were killed when it was shot down by a Russian-made missile. Russia was responsible for the downing of the Malaysia Airlines flight, MH17, over eastern Ukraine in July 2014, the United Nations aviation agency has ruled. It sends a clear messaged to the international community, he added: "states cannot violate international law with impunity" . The trio were all sentenced to life in prison however, as they were not extradited, they have not served time in jail.