A decade after the downing of flight MH17, former prime minister Tony Abbott says he “should have done more than shirtfront” Russian President Vladimir Putin over the incident.

Wednesday marks 10 years since the downing of the Malaysian Airlines flight which was en route from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur when it was struck by a Russian missile, killing all 298 people on board, including 38 Australians.

Abbott, who was prime minister at the time and famously threatened to “shirtfront” the Russian president following the attack, said Putin needed to take responsibility.

“Russian missile batteries don’t wander into neighbouring countries by accident. This sort of thing only happens if it’s been authorised from the very top,” he told ABC radio on Wednesday.

“Russian President Putin owes the families of the dead an apology and compensation because, plainly, this aircraft was brought down in the pursuit of Russia’s geopolitical objectives in Ukraine.

“Yes, it was a tragedy but it was worse than that. It was an atrocity. “

Following Russia’s further invasion of Ukraine in 2022, Abbott said he had been vindicated by history in wanting to go after Russia and his stated intention at the time to “shirtfront” Putin.

He said the muted international response to the events of the downing of MH17 and Russia’s involvement in Ukraine at the time emboldened Putin to his current military aggression.

“I frankly should have done more than shirtfront him, because that was probably the only way to stop him. To be much more forceful than anyone was back then,” he said.

“Obviously, we’ve seen time and time again Putin taking advantage of weakness.”

Some 38 Australians were among the 298 people killed when MH17 was downed. Photo: AAP

Abbott recalled the fiery exchange when he met Putin for the first time following the downing of the flight, at the 2001 APEC Summit in Beijing.

“[Putin] said that ‘the Ukrainians were all fascists, and that the Ukrainians have brought the plane down themselves as some kind of provocation’. Then he said that Ukraine had no right to exist,” he said.

“I said to him ‘I get the Mother Russia thing … but if the Ukrainians want to look West rather than East, surely that’s their right’.

“As we were going back into the conference … he suddenly turned around, grabbed my elbows and tried to shake me and then push me away and he said in English … ‘look, you are not a native Australian, but I am a native Russian’.

“It was pretty obvious to me, right back then, what he was on about. I just think it’s a pity that more wasn’t done to help the Ukrainians.”

-with AAP