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| Mourning and Seeking Answers Where Malaysia Airlines Jet Fell to Earth | Mourning and Seeking Answers Where Malaysia Airlines Jet Fell to Earth |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| ROZSYPNE, Ukraine — A year ago, in this village deep in the sunflower-field outback of eastern Ukraine, bodies fell from the sky, and residents are still grappling to make sense of what happened. | ROZSYPNE, Ukraine — A year ago, in this village deep in the sunflower-field outback of eastern Ukraine, bodies fell from the sky, and residents are still grappling to make sense of what happened. |
| In the first moments after he heard a boom, Igor I. Tipunov, a welder, was confused. He walked outside. He glanced up. Then he dived for cover. | In the first moments after he heard a boom, Igor I. Tipunov, a welder, was confused. He walked outside. He glanced up. Then he dived for cover. |
| “Something flying very fast was whistling through the air” and falling toward his house, he recalled. | “Something flying very fast was whistling through the air” and falling toward his house, he recalled. |
| A living woman, or the body of a woman, he was not entirely sure, was falling — literally out of the blue. She went through his roof, scattering tiles about the yard, and landed face down in his kitchen, naked but for string underwear. | A living woman, or the body of a woman, he was not entirely sure, was falling — literally out of the blue. She went through his roof, scattering tiles about the yard, and landed face down in his kitchen, naked but for string underwear. |
| A year later, Mr. Tipunov is still looking for explanations, and he is not alone among the people in the three small, rural Ukrainian villages where debris landed after Malaysia Airlines Flight 17, a Boeing 777 heading to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, from Amsterdam, was shot down a year ago Friday. | A year later, Mr. Tipunov is still looking for explanations, and he is not alone among the people in the three small, rural Ukrainian villages where debris landed after Malaysia Airlines Flight 17, a Boeing 777 heading to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, from Amsterdam, was shot down a year ago Friday. |
| It was the families of the victims who suffered most. But the catastrophe that created a debris field of about 14 square miles was harrowing for those on the ground, too. | It was the families of the victims who suffered most. But the catastrophe that created a debris field of about 14 square miles was harrowing for those on the ground, too. |
| Outside this village, a freshly whitewashed cross stands beside a cornfield to commemorate the 298 people who died. | Outside this village, a freshly whitewashed cross stands beside a cornfield to commemorate the 298 people who died. |
| Villagers whose homes were struck with luggage, shoes, in-flight meals and worse are planning a ceremony with flowers and votive candles on Friday. A village priest is planning a requiem for the dead, whose sudden appearance on a summer afternoon a year ago still haunts people around here. | Villagers whose homes were struck with luggage, shoes, in-flight meals and worse are planning a ceremony with flowers and votive candles on Friday. A village priest is planning a requiem for the dead, whose sudden appearance on a summer afternoon a year ago still haunts people around here. |
| “Fortunately, nobody in this village suffered, but we had a big psychological stress,” Natalya V. Voloshina, the mayor of Petropavlivka, one of the three villages, said in an interview. “We were unwilling witnesses and, in a lesser manner, victims, too.” | “Fortunately, nobody in this village suffered, but we had a big psychological stress,” Natalya V. Voloshina, the mayor of Petropavlivka, one of the three villages, said in an interview. “We were unwilling witnesses and, in a lesser manner, victims, too.” |
| The plane was shot down by a missile fired by pro-Russian separatist soldiers, the United States says. An investigation by a Dutch aviation authority has been delayed, apparently because of East-West politics, but is expected to reach the same conclusion. | The plane was shot down by a missile fired by pro-Russian separatist soldiers, the United States says. An investigation by a Dutch aviation authority has been delayed, apparently because of East-West politics, but is expected to reach the same conclusion. |
| The separatists and the Kremlin deny this account, and Russia has objected to a proposal by Australia, Belgium, Malaysia, the Netherlands and Ukraine to form a United Nations tribunal to prosecute those responsible. | The separatists and the Kremlin deny this account, and Russia has objected to a proposal by Australia, Belgium, Malaysia, the Netherlands and Ukraine to form a United Nations tribunal to prosecute those responsible. |
| Oleksandr V. Turchynov, the head of Ukraine’s Security Council, accuses Russia of slowing and blocking the investigation “to try to hide its crime.” The Dutch prime minister, Mark Rutte, has said that while the United Nations tribunal is the first choice for prosecution, his country has a “backup plan” should the Russians block it. | |
| In a statement on Thursday, Secretary of State John Kerry, reiterating remarks he made last July, said: “We believe that MH17 was shot down by a surface-to-air missile fired from separatist-controlled territory in eastern Ukraine. A year later, we strongly reaffirm our commitment to a thorough and independent international investigation to identify the full facts of what happened that day and, most importantly, to see those responsible are held accountable.” | |
| In another effort to find justice, victims’ families filed a lawsuit in federal court in Chicago against Igor Girkin — a Russian citizen who also goes by the nickname Igor Strelkov, or Igor the Shooter — who was the rebel defense minister at the time the plane was shot down. The suit asks for $50 million per victim from Mr. Girkin, who lives in Russia and is not known to be wealthy. | In another effort to find justice, victims’ families filed a lawsuit in federal court in Chicago against Igor Girkin — a Russian citizen who also goes by the nickname Igor Strelkov, or Igor the Shooter — who was the rebel defense minister at the time the plane was shot down. The suit asks for $50 million per victim from Mr. Girkin, who lives in Russia and is not known to be wealthy. |
| Out in deeply religious rural Ukraine, villagers are commemorating the dead and helping with the inquiry so far as they can. | |
| Ms. Voloshina recalled how the father of one victim showed up in her office, where on the day of the crash Dutch clogs had bounced down outside. | Ms. Voloshina recalled how the father of one victim showed up in her office, where on the day of the crash Dutch clogs had bounced down outside. |
| “He expressed thanks” for the local people’s help in collecting bodies and belongings, she said. “He took a handful of black earth and went back to Holland.” | |
| Peeled open in the sky, the long-haul jetliner spilled its contents at altitude, scattering the debris and bodies over a large area. Objects separated by density and aerodynamic qualities clustered in grim impact zones. | Peeled open in the sky, the long-haul jetliner spilled its contents at altitude, scattering the debris and bodies over a large area. Objects separated by density and aerodynamic qualities clustered in grim impact zones. |
| Petropavlivka seemed to get debris from business class. Residents found ceramic, not plastic, coffee cups and overhead bins from business class wedged into a tree. | |
| The tail cone and rear wings landed in a field near Grabovo, and many bodies burned there in a jet-fuel fire. On that spot, residents with shovels broke ground on Wednesday on a memorial. | The tail cone and rear wings landed in a field near Grabovo, and many bodies burned there in a jet-fuel fire. On that spot, residents with shovels broke ground on Wednesday on a memorial. |
| In this village, Rozsypne, where the cross went up by the cornfield, numerous bodies came down amid shoes, yellow life jackets and aluminum shards. | In this village, Rozsypne, where the cross went up by the cornfield, numerous bodies came down amid shoes, yellow life jackets and aluminum shards. |
| The bodies landed in a cabbage patch, a plot planted with rhubarb and an apple orchard. In total, 39 of them came down. | The bodies landed in a cabbage patch, a plot planted with rhubarb and an apple orchard. In total, 39 of them came down. |
| “They flew down, excuse me for saying it, butt first, their hands and arms pointing up,” Galina F. Denchenko, 58, said, sitting on a bench in the shade, eating apricots with a friend. | “They flew down, excuse me for saying it, butt first, their hands and arms pointing up,” Galina F. Denchenko, 58, said, sitting on a bench in the shade, eating apricots with a friend. |
| Many bodies came to earth still buckled into the airliner’s blue seats. Residents remain unnerved by the thought, even a year later. Oleg M. Miroshnichenko, the mayor of Rozsypne at the time of the crash, said residents had taken it upon themselves to commemorate the dead. | Many bodies came to earth still buckled into the airliner’s blue seats. Residents remain unnerved by the thought, even a year later. Oleg M. Miroshnichenko, the mayor of Rozsypne at the time of the crash, said residents had taken it upon themselves to commemorate the dead. |
| A bouquet was tied to a tree trunk on a rutted dirt road that leads into the area of the debris fields, near where Dutch children’s books fluttered to earth. | A bouquet was tied to a tree trunk on a rutted dirt road that leads into the area of the debris fields, near where Dutch children’s books fluttered to earth. |
| On the ground near the crosses, stuffed animals have appeared. | On the ground near the crosses, stuffed animals have appeared. |
| And Rozsypne residents are still collecting plane parts; perhaps they will for years to come. Under an agreement with Dutch investigators, the items will be shipped to the Netherlands. | And Rozsypne residents are still collecting plane parts; perhaps they will for years to come. Under an agreement with Dutch investigators, the items will be shipped to the Netherlands. |
| A farmer picking cucumbers this week, Maksim V. Rakulyenko, harvested detritus from the world of jet travel: an oxygen mask, headphones and a sun-bleached tray table printed with the instruction “Stow Leg Rest for Taxi, Takeoff and Landing.” |