A group of relatives of deceased passengers about the M17 Malaysia airliner shot down over Donbas in July 2014 has won a case in a U.S. court. The victory will allow them to seek hundreds of millions of dollars worth of compensation.

According to the Kyiv-based Yevropeiska Pravda (European Truth) edition, the relevant documents from the court were obtained by the Dutch Zembla TV show.

The suit was filed by family members of 25 victims of the MH17 airliner, ten of whom are Dutch citizens. A case was opened against Ihor Girkin (Strelkov), who then was the so-called Defense Minister of the self-proclaimed Donetsk People's Republic.

The U.S. court handed down its decision on December 21, ruling that the total amount of compensation family members could seek was $400 million, or $20 million per deceased passenger.

The Malaysian MH17 Boeing airliner, traveling from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur, was shot down on July 17, 2014 over Donbas. All 298 passengers on board were killed.

Investigators have determined a Russian BUK land-to-air missile shot down the plane. Although the missile system was delivered to Ukraine and brought back to Russia after the tragedy, Russian officials continue to deny any involvement.