Four men go on trial in the Netherlands on Monday charged with the murder of 298 people on board Malaysia Airlines flight MH17.

The plane, travelling from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur, was shot down with a Russian-made missile over eastern Ukraine in 2014.

A group of pro-Russian rebels are accused of planning the attack but they are not expected to show up to the trial.

Russia has consistently denied any involvement.

An Irish-born citizen was among the victims on the downed flight.

The woman was a native of Dublin, but had been living in Australia for some years.

An international investigation in 2016 concluded that flight MH17 was definitely shot down from the ground by a Buk missile moved into Ukraine from Russia.

Investigators said the missile was fired from the village of Pervomaysk.

In this July 2014 file photo, a pro-Russian rebel touches the MH17 wreckage at the crash site of Malaysia Airlines flight 17, near the village of Hrabove, eastern Ukraine | Image: Vadim Ghirda/AP/Press Association Images

The report, from a team of international prosecutors, said it was unclear whether soldiers had been ordered to fire the missile, or had acted independently.

The Boeing 777 fell apart in mid air, spreading wreckage over several miles of rebel-held Ukraine.

The US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has welcomed the latest development.

He said: "As the trial begins, we recall the UN Security Council's demand that 'those responsible... be held to account and that all States cooperate fully with efforts to establish accountability.'

"All of those indicted are members of Russia-led forces in eastern Ukraine. We call upon all States to cooperate in efforts to establish accountability, in accordance with UN Security Council Resolution 2166.

"This trial is a critical moment in the search for justice for the families and friends of the 298 individuals who lost their lives on July 17, 2014.

"We have the utmost confidence in the Dutch legal system to establish the truth and to do justice in this case. We support the ongoing investigatory work of the Joint Investigation Team comprised of the Netherlands, Australia, Belgium, Malaysia, and Ukraine.

"We again urge Russia to cease its continuing aggressive and destabilizing activities in Ukraine."