AFP bomb expert, forensic scientist honoured for roles in MH17 investigation

Speaking at a memorial service in Parliament House to mark the 10-year anniversary of the tragedy on Wednesday, Mr Kershaw recounted the horror of the disaster that met AFP officers deployed to Donetsk, Ukraine.

"The crime scene was 50 square kilometres and, a juxtaposition, fields of smiling six-foot-tall sunflowers surrounded by what occurs after such evil," he said.

"For those on the ground, strength was drawn from the blue patch on their shoulders. The insignia of the AFP," Mr Kershaw said.

"Our mission was clear: Do everything possible to return loved ones, find the truth, seek justice and hold those responsible to account."

Malaysia Airlines flight MH17, a Boeing 777, was shot out of the sky and crashed in eastern Ukraine on July 17, 2014, killing all 298 people on board - including 38 Australian citizens and permanent residents.

"Assistant Commissioner Hilda Sirec was a bomb technician and a then-detective sergeant when she deployed to the Ukraine," Mr Kershaw said.

"Hilda was the first to identify the bow-tie type shaped fragments had damaged the plane, which pointed to a Buk missile."

This would prove crucial evidence for the Dutch Safety Board's investigation of the crash, which in 2015 found that a Russian-made Buk missile had downed flight MH17.

Mr Kershaw also named AFP Chief Scientist, Forensics Dr Simon Walsh, who led a team of Australian specialists that worked with international colleagues to identify the MH17 victims' remains under Operation Bring Them Home.

Dr Walsh "became a guardian for those lost", Mr Kershaw said, as did the AFP's team of family liaison officers.

"Long after the initial disaster, our members harnessed their skills to help secure evidence critical for the criminal case against those responsible," he said.

"These members are humble, but they represent the best of Australia and the best of the AFP ... I acknowledge those who still pursue all avenues to hold Russia to account.

"To those whose lives have forever changed, it's understandable if you wish that our paths never crossed in such circumstances.

"But we are honoured to have served you when you need us. Time will never weaken our resolve. Time has not diminished our bond to those who never made it home. And time has only strengthened our bond to those who mourn."

Foreign Minister Penny Wong addressed a message to the families of the crash victims in her speech, while recommitting the Australian Government to seeking "truth, justice and accountability for the outrages perpetrated on July 17, 2014".

"We are with you in your grief. And your grief steels us in the fight for justice," Senator Wong said.

"As your grief has steeled the hundreds of Australian Federal Police, Defence Force and Australian Transport Safety Bureau personnel whose thorough and painstaking work supported that independent investigation through the MH17 Joint Investigation Team.

"Together, these efforts - on your behalf, on behalf of those we lost and on behalf of the country - have seen charges laid and convictions secured against perpetrators.

"Sentences of life imprisonment levied against Igor Girkin, Sergey Dubinskiy, and Leonid Kharchenko in 2022 for their involvement in the downing of MH17.

"And your country has imposed sanctions against these three, as well as Sergey Muchkaev who commanded the Russian Brigade that provided the missile that shot down Flight MH17."

Senator Wong vowed to continue seeking justice, despite Russia's refusal to cooperate.

"While we are appalled that Russia has withdrawn from the action Australia and the Netherlands initiated in the International Civil Aviation Organisation, the case will continue," she said.

"The findings of this same court unequivocally and conclusively establish Russia's responsibility for the downing of MH17 ... And we will not be deterred in our commitment to hold Russia to account."

Former prime minister Tony Abbott called on Russian President Vladimir Putin to take responsibility for the "atrocity" of MH17's downing.

"Russian missile batteries don't wander into neighbouring countries by accident. This sort of thing only happens if it's been authorised from the very top," he told ABC radio before attending the memorial.

"Russian President Putin owes the families of the dead an apology and compensation, because, plainly, this aircraft was brought down in the pursuit of Russia's geopolitical objectives in Ukraine.

"Yes, it was a tragedy but it was worse than that. It was an atrocity."