The four Russian-backed separatists named in a Dutch-led investigation into the shooting down of MH17 over east Ukraine on 17 July 2014 are Igor Girkin, Sergei Dubinsky, Oleg Pulatov and Leonid Kharchenko. The former was named as defence minister for the Donetsk People’s Republic, Sergei Dubinsky. The latter three were members of the separatists’ military intelligence unit, according to The Guardian.

Criminal charges are expected to begin in March 2020. However, Russian law forbids extradition of its citizens making it unlikely that any of the suspects will be tried in the Netherlands.

Among the victims were Briton Andrew Hoare, 59, a banker working in Luxembourg at the time and living in Roeser, his Dutch wife, Estella (51), and their two sons, Jasper (14) and Friso (12).

The children attended the European School in Kirchberg. The family was bound for a trekking holiday in Borneo when they boarded the plane. Among the tributes made to the family in Luxembourg was a two-hour memorial held in a field in Roeser.

Jim Kent, a relative of Andrew Hoare, told Delano on Thursday: “I’m sure that many of the relatives will be sad to be reminded of the loss of loved ones. For me I don’t feel anger towards the perpetrators of the missile attack however I do believe that ascribing culpability and the consequential acts of justice that may follow are an important part of recognising what a terrible crime this was.”