Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs
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On 17 July it will be 10 years since flight #MH17 crashed in eastern #Ukraine. All 298 people on board, including 196 Dutch nationals, died. For many of our colleagues, it remains a haunting memory
Ten years after MH17: BZ staff share their memories of the disaster
Ten years after MH17: BZ staff share their memories of the disaster
Blog post | 16-07-2024 | Ministry of Foreign Affairs
On 17 July it will be 10 years since flight MH17 crashed in eastern Ukraine. All 298 people on board, including 196 Dutch nationals, died. Dozens of staff members of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs were involved in dealing with the aftermath of the disaster. Some helped with the recovery of the victims. Others were involved in the Netherlands’ efforts to achieve justice, in their capacity as diplomats. The disaster will always stay with them: ‘It got under my skin.’
When the report came in, on that rather cloudy summer’s day on 17 July 2014, the seriousness of the situation was immediately clear. A civilian aircraft that had departed from Schiphol airport had crashed in eastern Ukraine. The wreckage had landed in wheat fields near the village of Hrabove, where heavy fighting was going on between the Ukrainian army and pro-Russian separatists. ‘It was a minefield, in more ways than one,’ says Michael Pistecky, who had started work as a Ukraine policy officer in May 2014.
Crisis teams
Crisis teams convened that same day, both at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and at the embassy in Kyiv, the latter led by chargé d’affaires ad interim Gerrie Willems. Robert Dresen, team leader for Russia and Central Asia at the time, helped the crisis team in The Hague monitor political developments in the region. Every few hours, the team issued a bulletin with updates.
‘It was clear from the start that this was a crisis that would require a lot of stamina,’ says Mr Dresen. ‘On the one hand we had to respond quickly, for instance in terms of dealing with the separatists in the area, so that the bodies of the victims could be repatriated. On the other hand, we had to be mindful of the diplomatic consequences of such contacts in the longer term.’
‘When flight MH17 crashed, the war in Ukraine suddenly reached the Netherlands.'
BBM
Longread at link.
