On July 17, 2014, a passenger plane “Boeing 777” of flight MH17 Amsterdam-Kuala Lumpur was shot down in Eastern Ukraine. All passengers and crew died — 298 people. In terms of the number of victims, the plane crash became the largest in the history of Ukraine.
Since mid-April 2014, during the Russian aggression in Eastern Ukraine, active hostilities began. On May 2, 2014, pro-Russian forces with the help of portable anti-aircraft missile systems shot down two Mi-24 helicopters of the Army Aviation of Ukraine near the city of Slavyansk. In June 2014, pro-Russian military shot down an Il-76 plane that was landing at Luhansk airport. On July 1, 2014, Ukraine closed the airspace over the war zone to civil aviation to an altitude of 7,900 meters. However, already on July 14, 2014, in the Luhansk region, five kilometers from the Russian border, an An-26 transport plane of the Armed Forces of the Armed Forces was shot down. On July 16, a Su-25 was shot down and a second Su-25 was fired at from the PZRK. The next day, July 17, a passenger plane was shot down, almost a third of whose passengers were children.
A Malaysia Airlines Boeing 777 passenger plane was shot down on July 17, 2014 near Torez, Donetsk region. The board operated a regular MH17 flight from Amsterdam, Netherlands, to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. The flight departed Amsterdam at 13:30 Kyiv time and headed for Kuala Lumpur International Airport. Communication with the plane was interrupted at about 16:00. Three hours later, the plane was hit by a missile. All passengers and crew died — 298 people, including 80 children. By the number of dead, this disaster became the largest aircraft accident in the history of Ukraine.
An international investigation has established that the MH17 aircraft was shot down over the Donetsk region of Ukraine from the Russian-made Buk anti-aircraft missile complex. On the same day after the crash, a number of airlines, such as Lufthansa, Air France, Turkish Airlines, announced a change in the flight paths of their aircraft around the East of Ukraine. On the evening of July 17, 2014, the European Organization for the Safety of Air Navigation closed the airspace of Ukraine to civil aviation flights.
On July 17, the then President of Ukraine Petro Poroshenko initiated the creation of a state commission with the involvement of specialists and international structures to investigate the tragedy with the Malaysia Airlines plane. “We do not exclude that this aircraft was also shot down, and we emphasize that the Armed Forces of Ukraine did not carry out any actions to hit targets in the air,” the president said.
The Joint Investigation Team (JIT) named the names of the first four suspects: Sergey Dubinsky (call sign “Hmury”), Igor Girkin (nickname “Strelkov”), Oleg Pulatov (callsign “Gurza”), Leonid Kharchenko (nickname “Mole”). On May 24, 2018, the authorities of Australia and the Netherlands officially blamed Russia for the plane crash. In November 2019, part of the indictment in the case was transferred to The Hague court. The downing of the plane caused a new wave of sanctions by Western powers against the Russian Federation. The Hague District Court announced at a hearing on November 17, 2022 that only life imprisonment would be sufficient punishment for Russians Igor Girkin and Sergey Dubinsky, as well as Ukrainian Leonid Kharchenko, who were found guilty. On May 18, 2024, a Ukrainian court sentenced 14 years in absentia the will of Sergei Dubinsky.
Mstislav Chernov was one of the first photographers and videographers to capture the aftermath of the Malaysian plane crash. “At that time, accreditations for international agencies were still working in Donbas. We were on duty, shooting stories every day and following the news, — said Mstislav Chernov in one of Interviews. - When reports appeared on social networks that the transport plane had been shot down, they decided to leave and shoot urgently. On the way, they called from London and reported that a passenger plane was missing. At first we didn't even realize what had happened. It was thought that two planes disappeared at once. Then everything became clear.”
On the third anniversary of the plane crash, on July 17, 2017, the MH17 National Monument was opened in a community in the north of the Netherlands near the country's largest international airport. As conceived by the landscape designer, the trees planted in memory of each deceased resemble a mourning ribbon from a height. Instead, the planted sunflowers are reminiscent of the Ukrainian field, where the wreckage of the plane was found.
Mstislav Chernov — Ukrainian photographer, journalist of the Associated Press, director, war correspondent, President of the Ukrainian Association of Professional Photographers, honorary member of “Ukrainian PEN” and writer. He covered the Revolution of Dignity, the war in eastern Ukraine, the aftermath of the downing of the Malaysia Airlines Boeing 777, the Syrian civil war, the battle of Mosul in Iraq, the Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2022, including the blockade of Mariupol. For this work, he received Deutsche Welle Freedom of Speech Award, Georgy Gongadze Award, Knight International Journalism Awards, Biagio Agnes Award, Bayeux Calvados-Normandy Award, Elijah Parish Lovejoy Award, Free Media Awards. According to the results of 2022, he was included in the ratings “People of NV 2022 in the Year of the War” and “14 songs, photos and art objects that became symbols of Ukrainian resistance” from “Forbes Ukraine”, and video materials from Mariupol became the basis of the film “20 Days in Mariupol”, which in 2024 was for the first time in the history of Ukrainian cinema Awarded an Oscar.
Photographer's social networks:
Facebook
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Recall that the Ukrainian Association of Professional Photographers has started a series of materials dedicated to key events of the Russian war against Ukraine, where he publishes memoirs and photographs of Ukrainian documentary photographers.
On July 17, 2014, a passenger plane “Boeing 777” of flight MH17 Amsterdam-Kuala Lumpur was shot down in Eastern Ukraine. All passengers and crew died — 298 people. In terms of the number of victims, the plane crash became the largest in the history of Ukraine.
Since mid-April 2014, during the Russian aggression in Eastern Ukraine, active hostilities began. On May 2, 2014, pro-Russian forces with the help of portable anti-aircraft missile systems shot down two Mi-24 helicopters of the Army Aviation of Ukraine near the city of Slavyansk. In June 2014, pro-Russian military shot down an Il-76 plane that was landing at Luhansk airport. On July 1, 2014, Ukraine closed the airspace over the war zone to civil aviation to an altitude of 7,900 meters. However, already on July 14, 2014, in the Luhansk region, five kilometers from the Russian border, an An-26 transport plane of the Armed Forces of the Armed Forces was shot down. On July 16, a Su-25 was shot down and a second Su-25 was fired at from the PZRK. The next day, July 17, a passenger plane was shot down, almost a third of whose passengers were children.
A Malaysia Airlines Boeing 777 passenger plane was shot down on July 17, 2014 near Torez, Donetsk region. The board operated a regular MH17 flight from Amsterdam, Netherlands, to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. The flight departed Amsterdam at 13:30 Kyiv time and headed for Kuala Lumpur International Airport. Communication with the plane was interrupted at about 16:00. Three hours later, the plane was hit by a missile. All passengers and crew died — 298 people, including 80 children. By the number of dead, this disaster became the largest aircraft accident in the history of Ukraine.
An international investigation has established that the MH17 aircraft was shot down over the Donetsk region of Ukraine from the Russian-made Buk anti-aircraft missile complex. On the same day after the crash, a number of airlines, such as Lufthansa, Air France, Turkish Airlines, announced a change in the flight paths of their aircraft around the East of Ukraine. On the evening of July 17, 2014, the European Organization for the Safety of Air Navigation closed the airspace of Ukraine to civil aviation flights.
On July 17, the then President of Ukraine Petro Poroshenko initiated the creation of a state commission with the involvement of specialists and international structures to investigate the tragedy with the Malaysia Airlines plane. “We do not exclude that this aircraft was also shot down, and we emphasize that the Armed Forces of Ukraine did not carry out any actions to hit targets in the air,” the president said.
The Joint Investigation Team (JIT) named the names of the first four suspects: Sergey Dubinsky (call sign “Hmury”), Igor Girkin (nickname “Strelkov”), Oleg Pulatov (callsign “Gurza”), Leonid Kharchenko (nickname “Mole”). On May 24, 2018, the authorities of Australia and the Netherlands officially blamed Russia for the plane crash. In November 2019, part of the indictment in the case was transferred to The Hague court. The downing of the plane caused a new wave of sanctions by Western powers against the Russian Federation. The Hague District Court announced at a hearing on November 17, 2022 that only life imprisonment would be sufficient punishment for Russians Igor Girkin and Sergey Dubinsky, as well as Ukrainian Leonid Kharchenko, who were found guilty. On May 18, 2024, a Ukrainian court sentenced 14 years in absentia the will of Sergei Dubinsky.
Mstislav Chernov was one of the first photographers and videographers to capture the aftermath of the Malaysian plane crash. “At that time, accreditations for international agencies were still working in Donbas. We were on duty, shooting stories every day and following the news, — said Mstislav Chernov in one of Interviews. - When reports appeared on social networks that the transport plane had been shot down, they decided to leave and shoot urgently. On the way, they called from London and reported that a passenger plane was missing. At first we didn't even realize what had happened. It was thought that two planes disappeared at once. Then everything became clear.”
On the third anniversary of the plane crash, on July 17, 2017, the MH17 National Monument was opened in a community in the north of the Netherlands near the country's largest international airport. As conceived by the landscape designer, the trees planted in memory of each deceased resemble a mourning ribbon from a height. Instead, the planted sunflowers are reminiscent of the Ukrainian field, where the wreckage of the plane was found.
Mstislav Chernov — Ukrainian photographer, journalist of the Associated Press, director, war correspondent, President of the Ukrainian Association of Professional Photographers, honorary member of “Ukrainian PEN” and writer. He covered the Revolution of Dignity, the war in eastern Ukraine, the aftermath of the downing of the Malaysia Airlines Boeing 777, the Syrian civil war, the battle of Mosul in Iraq, the Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2022, including the blockade of Mariupol. For this work, he received Deutsche Welle Freedom of Speech Award, Georgy Gongadze Award, Knight International Journalism Awards, Biagio Agnes Award, Bayeux Calvados-Normandy Award, Elijah Parish Lovejoy Award, Free Media Awards. According to the results of 2022, he was included in the ratings “People of NV 2022 in the Year of the War” and “14 songs, photos and art objects that became symbols of Ukrainian resistance” from “Forbes Ukraine”, and video materials from Mariupol became the basis of the film “20 Days in Mariupol”, which in 2024 was for the first time in the history of Ukrainian cinema Awarded an Oscar.
Photographer's social networks:
Facebook
Instagram
Recall that the Ukrainian Association of Professional Photographers has started a series of materials dedicated to key events of the Russian war against Ukraine, where he publishes memoirs and photographs of Ukrainian documentary photographers.
UAPP is an independent association of professional Ukrainian photographers, designed to protect their interests, support, develop and promote Ukrainian photography as an important element of national culture.
UAPP's activities span educational, social, research and cultural initiatives, as well as book publishing.
UAPP represents Ukrainian professional photography in the international photographic community and is an official member of the Federation of European Photographers (FEP) — an international organization representing more than 50,000 professional photographers in Europe and other countries around the world.
