Moscow ( CNN ) -- Outside the Dutch Embassy in Moscow , people have left flowers and cuddly toys at a makeshift memorial for the lives lost in a conflict-scarred corner of eastern Ukraine . Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 fell from the sky in Donetsk on Thursday , killing all aboard . Of the 298 people killed , 193 -- nearly two-thirds -- were Dutch citizens . The United States accuses Moscow of supporting the pro-Russian rebels that it suspects shot down the aircraft . Russia denies involvement , with Russian President Vladimir Putin saying Ukraine 's military operation against the rebels is to blame for the tragedy . He has called for a `` thorough and objective '' investigation . With rebels in control of the crash area , and reports of bodies and wreckage being tampered with , Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte told reporters he had a `` very intense '' conversation with Putin on Saturday . Rutte said he told Putin `` the opportunity expires to show the world that he is serious about helping . '' The tributes at the Dutch Embassy in Moscow include a hand-drawn picture of a plane broken in midair with the caption `` children should not die , '' in a child 's handwriting . Another message reads : `` We are afraid , we are ashamed , we are in mourning . '' While the official Russian position is that Russia played no role and has no responsibility for the crash , what 's striking in many of the notes is the use of the phrase `` forgive us . '' The messages give a sense that the people who have left them do feel that Russia has an element of responsibility in what is playing out in eastern Ukraine . One note reads , in English , `` Excuse us , please , if you can . Sorry ! Russia , Moscow . '' Paying his condolences at the embassy , Muscovite Yuri Yemshanov told CNN it was `` difficult to recognize that our country could be involved in this accident . '' `` I think there 's lot of proof that we 're in closer relations and connections with the separatists in Ukraine . I suppose it 's clearly understood that we support them by providing weapons , and so I think it does n't matter who launched that rocket . Just because we 're supporting terrorists , we 're involved . '' His wife , Marina , added : `` I think there should be investigation , but of course many things are understood now and we probably could know who did this . Now I think it 's time to say I 'm sorry for these people . This is the first thing . '' Another woman , who gave her name as Olga , said that she was sure Russia was not involved in the tragedy and that an investigation would establish who was , but she added : `` However , I would also say 'forgive me . ' I 'm feeling the same . '' Arnold van Sinderen , a Dutch citizen living in Moscow , told CNN he believed that the West painted the wrong image of Putin , but that all the same , the Russian leader needed to step up . `` It 's time to take responsibilities there and bring peace in this region . He should take his responsibility as well with what is happening with the plane crash ; this might accelerate the situation . '' Meantime , the tributes outside the embassy pile up . Grief over victims , support for those left behind . Who were the victims ? Grief and mourning at Amsterdam 's Schiphol Airport .
Nearly two-thirds of those who died in the Malaysia Airlines crash in Ukraine were Dutch . In Moscow , people have been leaving flowers and toys outside the Dutch Embassy . Many of the messages include the phrase `` forgive me , '' CNN 's Diana Magnay says . One Muscovite told her that Russia 's connections with rebels meant it was involved .