"Despite it being nearly four years since our lives were shattered, we struggle to comprehend what happened," the letter says. “We hold the Russian state and its leaders as ultimately responsible for the deaths of our family members. All the credible evidence points in that direction."

It has "already been a long wait" for the final report from the Joint Investigation Team (JIT) that will name the culprits, the letter says, but the signatory families say they have "confidence in the thoroughness and impartiality of the work".

In 2016, in its previous interim report, the JIT announced that MH17 had been hit by a Russian-made Buk missile fired from the village of Pervomaysk held by pro-Russian rebels in eastern Ukraine; and that the missile launcher had been transported into Ukraine from Russia.

It reached this conclusion based on wire taps, photographs, witness statements and forensic tests.

The letter writers said they hoped the World Cup would be something that ordinary Russians could take pleasure and pride in.

"But we cannot deny that from our perspective, a shadow hangs over this event. We are painfully aware of the dark irony that the Russian leaders who will profess to welcome the world with open arms, are those who are chiefly to blame for shattering our world.

"And that it is these same leaders who have persistently sought to hide the truth, and who have evaded responsibility ever since that dreadful day in July 2014."

The letter is signed by Jon and Meryn O’Brien, parents of Jack, who was among 298 who lost their lives, including 38 Australian citizens and residents.

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Jack O'Brien was returning from a seven-week holiday in Europe when he boarded the Malaysia Airlines flight in Amsterdam.

It is also signed by Paul Guard, who lost his parents Jill and Roger, and other bereaved families from the UK and the Netherlands.

On Thursday, the JIT, which includes Australian Federal Police officers alongside experts from Belgium, Malaysia, the Netherlands and Ukraine, is due to announce the interim results of its investigation.

The announcement, at a press conference in the Netherlands, will include new "visual material" and a new appeal for public assistance.

However no announcements will be made about possible suspects, the group said.

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"The investigation is still in full swing," they said. "[It] is intensive, constructive and focused on discovering the truth and bringing possible suspects to justice."

A Russian journalist told Moscow’s Echo radio station, citing sources close to the investigation, that the interim report would "most likely" name the Russian military brigade that transported the Buk system to Ukraine from where MH17 was shot down.

The journalist said it was expected the investigators would confirm the involvement of the 53rd anti-aircraft missile brigade, based in Kursk, which has previously been identified in this role by Novaya Gazeta and the Bellingcat open-source investigation group.

Bellingcat is also due to announce the result of its investigation into MH17 at a press conference on Friday, in collaboration with Russian-language investigative news website The Insider.