MH17: Russian paper prints apology for crash

The Russian newspaper Novaya Gazeta on Friday dedicated its front page for an apology to the Netherlands for the Malaysia Airlines (MAS) flight MH17 crash, in which 193 Dutch citizens were killed.

The Independent reported that the cover of the Russian paper featured the headline “Forgive us, Netherlands”, written in Dutch as “Vergeef ons, Nederlands”.

The picture used on its front page showed a procession of hearses carrying the coffins of the victims from Eindhoven airport to the military barracks in Holland on Wednesday for identification.

Novaya Gazeta was established by former leader of the Soviet Union, Mikhail Gorbachev funded by his 1990 Nobel Prize in 1993. It is also part owned by Alexander Lebedev, whose son Evgeny owns The Independent, the British paper reported.

The apology came as Russian citizen left flowers, notes and toys in front of the Dutch Embassy in Moscow as tribute to the victims of the MH17 crash.

One message read: “We are afraid, we are ashamed, we are in mourning," while another mourner left flowers accompanied by a note that simply reads: “Forgive us”, The Independent reported.