It has taken five years for Jane Malcolm to feel comfortable to publicly talk about the loss she feels after her mother and stepfather were killed when Malaysia Airlines flight MH17 was shot down.
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Ms Malcolm does not want Kanahooka couple Carol and Michael Clancy, or any of the other 296 victims, to be forgotten.
She and other families of Australian victims marked the anniversary with a quiet protest at the Russian consulate in Woollahra.
"It has been an exhausting day," Ms Malcolm said. "This is the first year I have spoken to any media.
"But it is important to have the victims' names out there and not forgotten.
"I feel like I owe it to Mum and Michael to speak out even though it is difficult. It is incredible to think it has been five years."
A statement from the six Australian families, three Malaysian and the one New Zealand family was given to the consulate.
It calls on the Russian government to cooperate fully with the criminal investigation, take responsibility for the shooting down of the plane and to "stop your disingenuous denials, your lies and deceit".
Ms Malcolm said she "could not keep track of the nonsense stories" that came from the Russian government and the lies were upsetting to her and other victims' families.
"The Russian government has done its best to hide the truth, or worse, convey the idea that there is no reliable truth to be found," the families' statement said. "We the families of MH17 have found this deeply offensive."
Ms Malcolm and a friend created 298 cards, each with a victims' name written, and on Wednesday they were tied to the railing of the consulate.
Ms Malcolm said the cards were to show that the 298 victims were more than a number and they represented how many lives and families were destroyed.
A Dutch-led Joint Investigation Team last month named and issued international arrest warrants for those accused of providing the missile that struck the passenger plane.
Three Russian men and a Ukrainian man will face murder charges with a trial due to start in March next year.
"We want those directly responsible for committing this crime, along with the chain of command above them, to be named and for history to know who they are and what they have done," the statement said.
"We want them to be held to account. We will continue to call for this until it happens. We can do no less."
Ms Malcolm feels part of a community of other families around the world, who continue to appreciate the tributes organised to remember their loved ones.
A statement to the Russian Federation from some affected families
Five years ago, our family members got on a plane in Amsterdam to make their way home.
Not far into the journey, their plane was shot out of the sky by a missile from the 53rd anti-aircraft brigade of the Russian army. Our beloved family members were all murdered in a brutal and senseless act.
Five years on, our grief is less raw but no less deep.
The sudden and violent death of the ones we love pervades our lives. We are different people now. We live with our loss the best we can. The loss for the people who were killed is total - their lives, their futures, everything. It is out of love for them that we want the truth about MH17 to be told and responsibility for this crime to be determined.
We stand with MH17 families in the Netherlands, Malaysia and all the affected nations in calling on the Russian government to:
1. Cooperate fully with the investigation, as you have promised in Resolution 2166 of the United Nations Security Council, but have so far failed to do.
2. Take your share of responsibility for the shooting down of MH17.
3. Stop your disingenuous denials, your lies and deceit.
To this point there has been no acknowledgement by the Russian state of their involvement in the shooting down of MH17.
Worse, Russia has spread multiple, bogus and contradictory explanations about what happened. This has taken place on a massive scale through social media but also through the main state sponsored media channels. It took time for us to realise that this barrage of conflicting theories was the result of a state orchestrated campaign of denial, distraction and distortion.
The Russian government has done its best to hide the truth, or worse, convey the idea that there is no reliable truth to be found. We the families of MH17 have found this disturbing and deeply offensive.
We realise that no court proceedings will make a difference to the depth of our grief or reduce the gaping hole in our lives. Still, the truth about what happened to MH17 exists and it matters.
A trial will allow all the evidence to be properly tested and the truth to be firmly established. A trial also sends the important message that you cannot kill innocent people and expect no consequences.
We want those directly responsible for committing this crime, along with the chain of command above them, to be named and for history to know who they are and what they have done. We want them to be held to account. We will continue to call for this until it happens. We can do no less.