Dutch Embassy in Moscow Commemorates MH17

On the first anniversary of the shooting down of Malaysia Airlines flight MH17 in the Donetsk region in war-torn eastern Ukraine, the Dutch Embassy in Moscow held a public event in commemoration of the victims of the tragedy, many of whom were Dutch nationals.



Participants were invited to honor the memory of the victims by writing an individual name on a paper airplane.



Hundreds of people gathered at the embassy on Friday afternoon to launch the paper planes, lay flowers and pay their respects to the 298 passengers and crew members who were killed in the airplane crash.

The words of much-loved Soviet poet Bulat Okudzhava that read:



And when there is a third war it's only my fault,

And my fault is seen by all.

Dutch Ambassador Ron J. P. M. van Dartel joined in the memorial event for the victims.