Family of MH17 victim believes Russia is not close to accepting responsibility for downing of plane
The year was 2014.
The Sydneysider was a passenger on Malaysian Airlines Flight 17 (MH17).
"He was on that flight because he was on his way home to us," said Meryn O'Brien.
She said her son was looking forward to returning to football and planning to move out of home for the first time.
MH17 had departed Amsterdam and was bound for Kuala Lumpur when it was shot down as it flew over Ukraine.
Now, in a development overnight, the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) unanimously ruled that Russia was responsible for the deaths of all 298 passengers and crew on board.
Jack O'Brien was one of 38 Australian victims.
Ms O'Brien said her son had emerged from the "ups and downs of the teenage years" to become a thoughtful, sensitive and intellectually strong young man.
"A bit of an introvert, liked his own time but could go out and be gregarious with his mates as well.
"We were a small family, just four of us, and now we are a family of three. We're still living in the same home and sometimes I have that feeling that he's here with us, and sometimes it's just his absence," she said, her voice breaking.
Two Russians and a Ukrainian were convicted in November 2022 of shooting down the Boeing 777.
They remain at large after being tried in absentia.
The ECHR ruled that the Russian military supplied the surface-to-air missiles, and had failed to conduct an adequate investigation into the incident, cooperate with requests for information, or provide legal remedies for survivors.
Australia and European nations have long blamed Russia.
Russia has always denied responsibility.
Ms O'Brien said the overnight court finding was what the families of the victims, and the world, had already known.
But she said it was another step in what she described as the "truth-telling" of the tragedy.
She said she hoped that Russia would one day take responsibility, but she was not certain that would happen in her lifetime.
"Many Russians know full well what happened and that the Russian state is responsible, and we've had expressions to us of Russian people who are sorry and ashamed of their country's actions, so I always want to distinguish between those people and the Russian federation."
Ms O'Brien said she was deeply grateful for the support she had received from authorities in Australia.
"From that day when our world was shattered and, all of a sudden, you're involved in forensic processes and an international incident of mass murder, the support from the Australian Federal Police and [Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade] has been fantastic and really, really helpful.
"We still get updates or heads up if there's something happening."
She said that as the families of victims continued to try to "adjust to that hole in our life", the war in Ukraine was adding to their distress.
"The suffering caused by the Russian federation is compounded when we watch what is happening in Ukraine. We feel like we are part of that as well."
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