At least the last ten flights of MAS17 took a more southerly route - over the Sea of Azov or even over the Black Sea - kind of avoiding the Donezk region.
Malaysia Airlines (MH) #17 ? 15-Jul-2014 ? EHAM / AMS - WMKK / KUL ? FlightAware
What would be the reasons to take a more northerly route this day?
The reason MH17 took this route was a thunderstorm along the way, as far as I know.