Amsterdam: The missile launcher that shot down Malaysia Airlines flight MH17 was actually one of two deadly Buk-TELAR systems smuggled over the border from Russia into eastern Ukraine, prosecutors have revealed during the emotional opening day of a landmark mass murder trial.

Prosecutor Dedy Woei-A-Tsoi began the long-awaited proceedings by reading out the names of all 298 victims in a sombre roll call that took nearly 20 minutes to complete and reduced family members to tears in the courtroom.

Australians Serge and Vera Oreshkin have travelled to Amsterdam for the trial.Credit:Pool

"It was incredibly moving," said Australian Federal Police commander Jennifer Hurst. "You could have almost heard a pin drop in that room."

Australians Serge and Vera Oreshkin, who travelled to Amsterdam for the trial, said the mention of their son Victor was "very, very heavy".

"It was very upsetting, however we are glad to hear our son's name be remembered."

Flight MH17 was blown out of the sky by a missile over eastern Ukraine in July 2014, killing all passengers and crew including 38 Australians. The Boeing 777-200 was flying 33,000 feet above an ongoing battle between Ukrainian government troops and pro-Moscow separatists near the Russian border.

A pair of shoes from passengers’ luggage lay among the wreckage of the cockpit from Malaysian flight MH17 in 2014. Credit:Kate Geraghty

The court heard how three Russians and one Ukrainian were responsible for the disaster even though they had not personally pressed the launch button on the high-powered Buk-TELAR missile launcher.

Intercepted communications will be used to prove the four men played key roles in acquiring the weapon and deploying it, and "noted with delight" that a plane had been shot down in the aftermath of the MH17 crash.

In a key new detail, prosecutors claimed that the launcher was actually the second such system sent to the area from the Russian Federation – suggesting Moscow played an even greater role in supplying weapons to the separatists than first thought. The first launcher caught fire and was rendered useless before it could be deployed to the battle zone.

Igor Girkin, a former colonel of the Russian Federal Security Service, Sergey Dubinsky, a former of the Russian military intelligence service, Oleg Pulatov, also a former of the Russian intelligence service, and Leonid Kharchenko, a Ukrainian who commanded a combat unit in the Donetsk region, are charged with bringing down the plane and the murder of everyone on board.

The men are being tried in absentia and only Pulatov has legal representatives. His legal team may argue in coming weeks that the trial should be deferred to allow more time to prepare.

"Oleg Pulatov's position is that he is not responsible, not in any capacity," said his lawyer Sabine ten Doesschate. "He has stated in simple terms he had nothing to do with causing MH17 to crash."

Pulatov's legal team used their opening statement to argue that the plane should not have been flying in airspace above a conflict zone.

Prosecutor Ward Ferdinandusse acknowledged some might think the year-long, multi-million dollar trial at the Schiphol Judicial Complex was useless given the four men aren't present and the "highly questionable" prospect they will ever be jailed if convicted.

"Sentencing is often a key element of a criminal trial, but it is not always more important than establishing the truth," he said.

"Also, a person who appears untouchable today, may still face court tomorrow."

'Death has become something different now'

The packed courtroom heard how the crash had inflicted a devastating and long-lasting blow on hundreds of families. The oldest victim was 82 and the youngest just 1.

A Russian Buk-Telar missile launching system pictured in Ukraine.Credit:JIT/AP

'Several dozen' guarded deadly weapon

Prosecutors said it was possible the defendants thought they were shooting at a Ukrainian military aircraft but stressed the same charges would still apply because it is prohibited to cause any aircraft to crash.

"The Buk-TELAR that downed flight MH17 should never have been in Ukraine, and it should never have fired a missile there, whether aimed at a civilian or military aircraft," Ferdinandusse told the court.

A Ukrainian man stands in the field where he came across a diver’s watch near debris from the MH17 plane crash outside the village of Grabovka in the self-proclaimed Donetsk Republic, Ukraine. Credit:Kate Geraghty

The court is expected to be shown evidence to prove Girkin, Dubinsky, Pulatov and Kharchenko arranged to bring the launcher to east Ukraine for placement in the field where it fired at MH17. They are also accused of sending the launcher back over the border to Russia shortly after the attack.

"Several dozens" were involved in transporting and guarding the weapon but few if any will be prosecuted due to a lack of proof.

Witnesses from Russia had already exposed themselves to "serious risk" by agreeing to give evidence and the identities of dozens of witnesses will remain secret, he added.

Australia announced in 2018 that it formally held Russia responsible for its part in bringing down the plane. An international investigation – which included officials from the Australian Federal Police – found the missile was Russian-made and the Buk launcher that fired it belonged to the Russian army.

However the prosecution appeared to warn grieving families on Monday that the trial would focus strictly on the guilt or innocence of the four accused men and not divert to other issues.

"Nothing more and nothing less," Ferdinandusse said. "A criminal trial is not a comprehensive attempt to establish the historical record."

More prosecutions could follow

A team of international investigators are now focused on identifying who actually fired the missile at MH17, as well as the "chain of command" in the Russian Federation.

Ferdinandusse downplayed the prospect of an imminent new wave of prosecutions.

"This phase of the investigation is, if anything, more complex than the first phase," he said.

Hurst, the AFP's commander for Europe, said the trial had "massive significance" for the more than 500 AFP investigators, forensic experts and intelligence officers involved in the MH17 investigation.

She also said an extension to the international investigation into the downing of the plane – of which Australia is a key member – could produce more suspects.

"We will continue to work very very hard on the investigation and look to identity any other people involved in this, including anyone in that command structure that may have been responsible for those actions," she said.

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