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Four men have been charged with murder for the downing of Flight MH17, a tragedy that killed 298 people.

Their trial is due to take place next March in the Hague.

The four suspects are Igor Girkin, Sergey Dubinskiy, Oleg Pulatov and Leonid Kharchenko.

Girkin, Duninskiy and Pulatov are Russian nationals while Kharchenko is Ukrainian.

Together they linked the so-called Donetsk People's Republic (DNR) with the Russian federation, investigators said today.

Ten Brits were on board the plane, including two John Adler and Liam Sweeney, who were on their way to watch a Newcastle United pre-season game.

The suspects are likely to be tried in absentia as Russia has not cooperated with the investigation and is not expected to hand anyone over.

The investigation team said Girkin was a former FSB colonel who served as minister of defence of the DNR in the summer of 2014.

It said Dubinsky was head of the military intelligence agency of DNR, while Pulatov was head of a second department of the DNR military intelligence agency.

Ukrainian national Kharchenko was head of a reconnaissance battalion for the second department, it said.

The Joint Investigation Team (JIT) said it would ask the Russian government to allow it to question the suspects who are currently in Russia.

It said Kharchenko was thought to be in Ukraine at the moment.

(Image: bellingcat.com)

Prosecutors have previously said the missile system that brought down the plane came from the Russian 53rd Anti-Aircraft Brigade, based in the western Russian city of Kursk.

Those who actually operated the missile launcher which shot down the plane are expected to be charged at a later date as the investigation continues.

Flight MH17 was flying from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur when it was shot down over eastern Ukraine, killing all 298 on board.

Ten Britons were on board the flight: John Alder, John Allen, Stephen Anderson, Robert Ayley, Cameron Dalziel, Glenn Thomas, Liam Sweeney, Ben Pocock, Richard Mayne and Andrew Hoare.

Investigators blame Russian-backed separatists who they say targeted the plane with a Russian-made missile.

Russia has always denied any involvement and has maintained the missile was fired from Ukrainian-held territory.

(Image: ROBIN VAN LONKHUIJSEN/EPA-EFE/REX)

However investigative group Bellingcat have previously revealed that former Russian GRU officer Dubinsky was the key figure in organizing the transport of the Buk missile launcher to the launch site south of the city of Snizhne, which has been under separatist control since the end of July 2014.

Russia claims the missile originated from Ukrainian-held territory but have never offered any evidence.

Last year Russian President Vladimir Putin called MH17's downing a "terrible tragedy" but said that Moscow was not to blame and that there are other explanations for what happened.

The governments of the Netherlands and Australia have said they hold Russia legally responsible.

Asked if she expected the suspects to attend the trial, Silene Fredriksz, whose son Bryce was on the plane with his girlfriend Daisy, said: "No. No, I don't think so. But I don't

care.

"I just want the truth, and this is the truth."

(Image: AFP/Getty Images) (Image: REUTERS)

Because more than 2/3s of the passengers were Dutch the JIT is Dutch-led.

There is thought to be little prospect of Russia turning the suspects over to the Netherlands and they will be tried in absentia if they fail to appear.

MH17 left Amsterdam's Schiphol Airport at 10.15 GMT on July 17, 2014 and was due to arrive at Kuala Lumpur in Malaysia the following day.

About four hours after take-off, the plane lost contact with air traffic control about 50km (30 miles) from the Russia-Ukraine border.

(Image: Reuters)

(Image: REUTERS)

The plane crashed in the Donetsk area, in territory controlled by separatists. Parts of the wreckage were found distributed over an area of about 50 sq km.

In October 2015 the Dutch Safety Board concluded the plane had been hit by a Buk missile, causing it to break apart in mid-air.

Russia's foreign ministry has accused the JIT investigation of being "biased and politically motivated".

Moscow has said it does not trust the investigation.

"Russia was unable to take part in the investigation despite expressing an interest right from the start and trying to join it", Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters earlier on Wednesday.

The investigators have today issued a fresh appeal for witnesses to the disaster to come forward.