Two Russians and a Ukrainian have been convicted of murder over the shooting down of MH17 in Ukraine in 2014.
One Russian defendant has been acquitted.
A court in the Netherlands found the three men helped procure the surface-to-air missile launcher that shot the plane out of the sky.
There were 298 people, including 38 Australians, killed when the Malaysia Airlines Boeing 777 was struck as it travelled over eastern Ukraine, bound for Kuala Lumpur.
The offenders, who remain at large, were tried in absentia as Moscow refused to hand them over.
It means they are unlikely to serve the life sentences handed down by the court, nor pay the 16 million euros ($28.8 million) in compensation they have been ordered to pay.
Outside the courtroom, the families of Australian victims welcomed the verdicts.
Matthew Horder, whose parents Howard and Susan were killed in the attack, said the court provided the answers he was seeking.
"The actions we've come to learn about, the BUK missile that downed Mum and Dad's plane, is true," he said.
"A court at a high level confirmed that this is what happened and those people were deliberately murdered by those three defendants.
"It's not lost on us that the three that were found guilty are unlikely to see time behind bars, but we've known that since the beginning."
Meryn and Jon O'Brien, whose 25-year-old son Jack died in the attack, said they were pleased the facts had been established.
"Jack has no voice," Ms O'Brien said.
"Jack would want the truth out. So … I feel relieved."
However, she said the judgement would not ease her family's grief.
"For all of us, it doesn't change anything," she said.
"It's a measure of justice, but it would be complete justice if our family members were restored to us."
Foreign Minister Penny Wong called on Russia to surrender those convicted "so they may face the court sentence for their heinous crime".
"The delivery of these verdicts is an important step in efforts to hold those responsible to account," she said in a press conference on Friday.
"It delivers the answers families have sought. It delivers confirmation that the Russian Federation have responsibility.
"Separatists had direction from Russia, Russia supplied weapons, training, money and the missile which downed the plane."
She also praised the investigators and her Dutch counterpart for their work "bringing this case to sentencing".
"The world today knows that Igor Girkin, Sergey Dubinskiy and Leonid Kharchenko downed an aircraft and murdered 298 people on board," she said.
"[They] are now sentenced for life.
"And no amount of avoidance, obfuscation, disinformation by the Russian Federation can avoid that fact."
MH17 mistaken for military aircraft
The panel of judges found that flight MH17 was deliberately targeted after "some consideration" but whoever pulled the trigger mistook it for a Ukrainian military aircraft.
"Everything indicates the … missile was launched deliberately but they believed it was a military aircraft rather than a civil one," presiding judge Hendrik Steenhuis said.
"Such an error, however, does not detract from the premeditated intent."
None of the men were accused of pressing the launch button, but prosecutors say they all helped get the missile launcher into Ukraine, from Russia.
The most senior Russian defendant was Igor Girkin, a former colonel in Russia's Federal Security Service (FSB) who was commanding armed forces in the self-proclaimed Donetsk People's Republic at the time of the attack.
Also convicted was one of Girkin's deputies, Sergey Dubinskiy, who was leading intelligence activities in the breakaway region.
The third Russian charged over the attack was Oleg Pulatov, a former officer in Russia's military intelligence organisation, known as the GRU.
He had legal representation at the trial and insisted he was innocent.
The judges ruled he was not actively involved in the missile launcher's deployment and did not bear responsibility.
The only Ukrainian charged and convicted was Leonid Karchenko who, according to prosecutors, was leading a pro-Russian rebel unit in Donetsk.
Verdicts follow a painstaking investigation
The flight from Amsterdam took off on July 7, 2014, and tracked across eastern Ukraine on its way to Kuala Lumpur.
Russian-backed rebels were fighting Ukrainian forces in the area, so the airspace was closed to low-level aircraft.
However, MH17 was flying at 33,000 feet, so it was allowed to proceed along the commonly used route.
About 1:20pm, it disappeared from radar and the pieces of the wreckage soon came crashing down across eastern Ukraine.
The debris was spread across 50 square kilometres, so investigators had to painstakingly piece the fuselage together to get a picture of what happened.
By analysing the damage to the aircraft's body and the distinctive shrapnel found in the bodies of the flight crew, investigators determined the aircraft was destroyed by a BUK missile.
The court found there was "ample evidence" to support that conclusion.
"The court does not see any possibility for reasonable doubt whatsoever," presiding judge Hendrik Steenhuis said.
Members of the Australian Federal Police were involved in the joint international investigation.
Outside court, AFP Assistant Commissioner Peter Crozier said it was a painstaking process.
"This remains one of the most complex investigations the Australian Federal Police has been involved with," he said.
"The fact that it occurred in a conflict zone made it even more complex.
"The delivery of these verdicts is an important milestone in our collective efforts to hold those responsible to account."
Putin 'shares the blame'
The Australian and Dutch governments both hold Russia legally responsible for the downing of MH17.
In 2014, then-prime minister Tony Abbott vowed to "shirtfront" Russian President Vladimir Putin over the issue.
Since then, Australia and the Netherlands have taken legal action against Russia in the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) seeking compensation and an apology.
However, Moscow denies wrongdoing and has dismissed the findings of investigators.
Jon O'Brien said his son would still be alive had Russia not been fuelling the conflict in eastern Ukraine.
"The court certainly highlighted the role of the Russian Federation in arming and instigating this entire conflict.
"It remains a source of grief and remains a source of anger for the families that Russia, still to this time, has not accepted any responsibility for what they've done."
Paul Guard, whose parents Roger and Jill Guard, from Toowoomba, died in the crash, said Mr Putin shared "a lot" of the blame.
"It's quite clear that Russia was heavily involved right from the start of this conflict in 2014," he said.
"And the evidence in the trial has shown that the missile launcher came from Russia.
"So, clearly a lot of the blame has to be put at the foot of the Russian regime."
He said he did not hate those responsible.
"Hate is not a useful emotion, but we need to find a way to solve this conflict," Mr Guard said.
"Unfortunately, we've got some people in Russia, especially the leader who is not seeing sense … and how pointless this whole war is."
