A Dutch court convicted three men – Russians Igor Girkin, Sergey Dubinskiy, and Ukrainian separatist Leonid Kharchenko – of murder on Thursday for their participation in shooting down a Malaysia Airlines flight in 2014 which killed 298 people.

Judge Hendrik Steenhuis said the evidence showed the plane was downed by pro-Russian Ukrainian soldiers. The plane was flying 1,000 feet above the restricted zone over a separatist-controlled area in Ukraine when a Russian missile hit it.

The three men were given life sentences. However, it is "not likely" they will serve their sentences as they were not present at the trial, nor have they been apprehended, Daily Wire reports.

"Without a shadow of a doubt, they are fully responsible, up until the Kremlin," said Peter Langstraat, an attorney for one of the families. "You cannot move this heavy military material without the consent of somebody high up in the military hierarchy. What does it mean? Close to or in the Kremlin."

Russian President Vladimir Putin maintains they had nothing to do with the incident, Associated Press reports. Russia's Foreign Ministry also accused the Dutch court of caving to pressure from Dutch politicians, prosecutors, and media.

"There is no need to talk about objectivity and impartiality in such conditions," Russia's Foreign Ministry said in a statement.