crash site

The first clear evidence of Malaysian Airlines plane Boeing 777, flight MH17 shot down by a Russian BUK missile can be seen in a forensic investigation commissioned by RTL Nieuws claims. Correspondent Jeroen Akkermans took a number of fragments for investigation from the crash site last November and shipped the fragments for examination at an independent institute.

A Dutch defense team is back on the scene of the flight MH17 disaster in eastern Ukraine. The team left from Donetsk this morning.

According to a Ukrainian official in Donetsk, the Dutch investigative team working to recover the victims of the crashed Malaysia Airlines flight MH17 made no efforts to communicate with the Ukrainian team who were in the area for the first five days after the crash. The official tells RTL Nieuws that the Dutch mission leaders made big mistakes in the operation.

The coming days will be determine whether a political solution is possible for hostilities between the rebels and Ukraine to come to an end, says ex-Major General Frans van Kappen. The ex-military leader does not rule out that Russia is heading for an intervention, however, the NOS reports.

An army spokesperson has announced that at least ten Ukrainian soldiers have been killed in Shaktarsk in rebel-held eastern Ukraine, south-west of the MH17 crash site. The army spokesperson in Kiev says that another four have died, but it is unclear whether these are soldiers or rebels, the ANP reports.

There is still little faith in the safety of the area around the MH17 crash site in eastern Ukraine, as the Dutch team looking to access the site for investigation had to turn back again yesterday. The chance that they will be able to access the site soon is not likely, the OSCE says.

Pro-Russian separatists in eastern Ukraine say that there is no truth in the claim that the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) is not allowed into the area where the Malaysia Airlines plane crashed on the 17th of July. They insist rather that they have always worked "effectively" together with the organization.

Minister Frans Timmermans is in Ukraine's capital Kiev with his Australian Foreign Affairs colleague Julie Bishop to discuss the safe progress of the international investigation currently underway. Out of discussions with the Ukrainian government, Minister Timmermans has drawn up a treaty that would allow Dutch personnel in the East of the country to arm themselves in case clashes escalate and their own safety is not secured.

The Cabinet will not be sending a military mission to Ukraine after all, Prime Minister Rutte said at a press conference on Sunday. Rutte says that the area is too explosive, and the mission could cause other countries to become involved in the conflict between the pro-Russian separatists and the Ukrainian government.

The Cabinet in The Netherlands is discussing the possibility of sending hundreds of soldiers from all over the world as well as forensic police experts to Ukraine to ensure the security of the site where 193 Dutch passengers died in a plane crash last week Thursday, the Volkskrant reports.

The international team of forensic investigators are going to be able to reach the crash site of the fated Malaysia Airlines MH17 tragedy this morning, three days after the event.