In July, when the first remains of victims of Malaysian Airlines Flight MH17 were returned to The Netherlands, Amsterdam-based Russian journalist and Radio Svoboda Correspondent Sophia Kornienko was there to gather reactions from relatives and officials.
Her report, "The Pain Made Me Quiet,” produced in Russian for Radio Svoboda, shows the agony not only of the grieving families, but of an entire nation's bereavement.
Listen to an excerpt from her report in English. (Produced by Zydrone Krasauskiene)
The plane was downed July 17 over eastern Ukraine. All 298 people aboard, most of them Dutch citizens, died in the crash near the eastern Ukrainian town of Torez. Dutch specialists lead the investigation on the ground, with the Dutch Safety Board’s preliminary report on September 9 saying the plane was brought down by a large number of “high-energy objects” that penetrated the aircraft. The plane is widely believed to have been shot down by surface to air missiles. Kyiv Blames Russia and the pro-Moscow separatists. Russia has blamed the Ukrainians.