(XINHUA/AFP)

On July 17, Malaysia Airlines flight MH17 was shot down and crashed in east Ukraine near the Russian border, with all the 283 passengers and 15 crew members on board perishing in the accident.

The Malaysian airliner, a Boeing 777, en route from Amsterdam, Holland, to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, began to descend 50 km from the Russian border. It was subsequently found burning on the ground on Ukrainian territory.

It is believed the aircraft was hit by a missile fired from ground below. Authorities in Kiev, Ukraine's capital, and separatists from east Ukraine have traded accusations over the responsibility.