PM at a meeting with Dutch Foreign Minister: Destruction of civil MH17 - crime against humanity

On Saturday, November 8, Prime Minister of Ukraine Arseniy Yatsenyuk received newly appointed Minister of Foreign Affairs Bert Koenders, who arrived in Ukraine to get acquainted with the state of affairs in investigating the crash of the Malaysian Airlines MH-17.

Foreign Minister of the Netherlands informed about the investigation, conducted by an international team led by the Netherlands. As noted, experts have managed to identify the remains of 289 victims out of 298. Today, five coffins with the remains of the victims were sent from Kharkiv to the Netherlands in the presence of Bert Koenders and Kharkiv Regional Head Ihor Baluta. The next important step will be the study of airframe’s wreckage, gathering physical evidence and transferring the case to court.

Arseniy Yatsenyuk has stressed that the Government considers the destruction of the civil aircraft by a missile launched from the territory controlled by Russian terrorists as a crime against humanity. The Government along with the law enforcement bodies handed over all the necessary data and materials to the international investigation team and they are seeking a rapid clarification of all the circumstances of the tragedy and just punishment for those involved in this disaster. The Prime Minister has stressed the importance of joint and coordinated work of representatives of all the countries whose citizens were killed in the crash for the most rapid administration of justice on criminals, as well as those who supplied them with weapons, provided financial and political support.