Ukraine extended the agreement with the Netherlands on the investigation of MH17
The President of Ukraine, Petro Poroshenko, has ratified an agreement with the Netherlands prolonging the treaty on protecting the international mission investigating the crash of Malaysian Airlines flight MH17 until August 2017, as reported on the official website of the Ukrainian Government on Thursday.
Act 1688-VIII ratifies the agreement signed on 28 July 2014, providing the legal framework to continue the activity of the international mission protecting the investigation of the crash. The statement published on the website of the Ukrainian President expressed hope that the ratification of the agreement will facilitate prompt completion of the investigation. The agreement will come into force after Ukraine and the Netherlands provide written notice confirming that all necessary internal procedures have been approved.
The Boeing 777 aircraft travelling from Amsterdam to Kuala-Lumpur was shot down on 17 July 2014, 80 kilometers from Donetsk. All 298 passengers and crew were killed in the crash. Most of the victims were Dutch citizens.
The international investigation team researching the cause of the МН17 crash, presented interim findings on the 28th of September that included an identification of the weapon system with which the plane was shot down, and the launch site.
The investigation team came to the conclusion that "the MH17 plane was shot down by a 9М38 missile launched from a self-propelled, medium-range surface-to-air missile system (BUK-TELAR) in the area near Pervomayske.” This region was under control of pro-Russian separatists at the time.
The international investigation team also found out that "the self-propelled system was delivered to Ukraine from Russia, and after the plane was attacked, it was returned to the Russian Federation.”