A Decade After MH17 Tragedy: A Quest for Accountability and Healing

Quinn Schansman, dreaming of becoming the youngest-ever American CEO, was killed in the MH17 disaster caused by a Russian missile. His father continues seeking accountability from Russia, which denies responsibility. As global legal actions proceed, the 10th anniversary of the tragedy is marked by memorials and calls for justice.

Quinn Schansman dreamed of becoming the youngest-ever CEO of an American company. A decade ago, he had just finished his first year of an international business degree in Amsterdam, taking steps toward that lofty goal. But the 18-year-old dual Dutch American citizen's future was cruelly cut short when he was one of the 298 people killed as a Soviet-era Buk surface-to-air rocket, launched from territory in eastern Ukraine controlled by pro-Russian rebels, destroyed Malaysia Airlines flight 17.

The conflict in Ukraine has since erupted into full-scale war following Russia's invasion in February 2022. On Wednesday, Quinn's father, Thomas Schansman, will read out his name and those of other victims during a commemoration marking 10 years since the tragedy at a monument near Schiphol, the airport flight MH17 left on its way to Kuala Lumpur on July 17, 2014.

Schansman has learned to live with the loss of his son, but what he still can't accept is Moscow's blunt denials of responsibility for the downing of the Boeing 777, which shattered in midair and scattered bodies and wreckage over agricultural land and fields of sunflowers in eastern Ukraine.

(With inputs from agencies.)