"Russia's war began with the occupation of Crimea and the downing of MH17," said the Dutch prime minister

Dutch Prime Minister Rob Jetten noted that Russia’s full-scale invasion in 2022 was a turning point for many Europeans, but in reality, the war against Ukraine began as early as 2014 following the occupation of Crimea and the downing of flight MH17 by a Russian missile. 

He said this during his speech at the Security Conference in The Hague, according to Ukrinform. 

According to the Dutch prime minister, it was then that reality caught up with Europe, and world peace was replaced by terrorism and war.

Rob Jetten emphasized that for many years, the world has been facing a reality in which strong leaders of various countries mock democracy and the rule of law, playing with peace and prosperity in the region. Recent years have taught European states that their security now depends not only on military strength but also on economic dependencies, cybersecurity, and technology.

In light of these challenges, the prime minister urged everyone to start thinking now about where Europe wants to be in 10 to 20 years. Concluding his speech, the official emphasized that the future belongs not to those currently in power, but exclusively to future generations.

As a reminder, the Netherlands spent 166 million euros on the aftermath of the downing of Malaysia Airlines Flight MH17 by the Russians over the occupied part of Donetsk Oblast in 2014.

Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim also stated that during his visit to Moscow, he discussed with Putin the crash of Malaysian Flight MH17, which the Russian military shot down in 2014 over the temporarily occupied Donetsk region.