Ukraine

Russia again blamed the Ukraine for shooting down Malaysia Airlines flight MH17 in 2014 in a surprise press conference held on Monday. According to the Russians, the BUK missile that shot down the Boeing was indeed produced in Russia, but was in Ukrainian hands at the time of the disaster. The international team investigating the disaster, JIT, said it will "carefully study" Russia's accusations, but also pointed out that in the past the country has been less than generous when it came to responding to requests for assistance, NOS reports.

Dutch police officers, soldiers, prosecutors and diplomats were spied on by Ukrainian and Russian secret services while they were in Ukraine after the MH17 disaster in 2014, RTL Nieuws reports based on well-informed sources.

Minister Stef Blok of Foreign Affairs does not rule out that in the future the Netherlands will also hold Ukraine accountable for its role in the MH17 disaster. "There is no concrete legal ground for this, but the cabinet does not rule anything out", he said in a parliamentary debate on the government's decision to hold Russia accountable for its role in the downing of the Malaysia Airlines flight, NU.nl reports.

Vladyslav Voloshyn, an Ukrainian military pilot blamed by Russia for shooting down flight MH17, has died. He was killed by gunshots, Ukrainian media report, quoting the local police.

According to Ukrainian media outlet NikVesti, the 29-year-old pilot committed suicide in his apartment in Mykolaiv while his family was at home. They heard a gunshot and called the emergency services. Voloshyn was rushed to hospital, but died of his injuries. Rumors of assassination since the report was published alternately accuse both Russia and Ukraine of pulling the trigger.

Former Georgian Prime Minister Michail Saakashvili is moving to the Netherlands. He landed at Schiphol on Monday, after being deported from the Ukraine to Poland. He plans to settle here, his lawyer Oscar Hammerstein confirmed to NOS. According to the lawyer, Saakashvili's accommodation was "quietly arranged and approved" by the Netherlands' immigration and naturalization service IND. 

Two Dutch intelligence services uncovered substantial evidence detailing how a Russian-backed hacking group infiltrated the Barack Obama White House, the U.S. Department of State, and the Democratic National Committee, according to a ground breaking report from broadcaster NOS and newspaper Volkskrant.

The countries participating in the criminal investigation into the MH17 disaster, confirmed their support and cooperation to that investigation and the prosecution of those responsible on paper. The Foreign Affairs Ministers of the five countries in the Joint investigation team - Netherlands, Australia, Belgium, Malaysia and Ukraine - signed the agreements they made on this front on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly in New York on Wednesday.

Those responsible for downing flight MH17 over eastern Ukraine in 2014, will stand trial in the Netherlands, the five countries most involved with the disaster decided on Tuesday night. The decision follows long consultation between the countries, the Volkskrant reports.

The team doing the criminal investigation into the downing of flight MH17 will start spreading videos in the Ukraine in an effort to convince witnesses to come forward. The videos consist of the relatives of MH17 victims talking about their loved ones, how they are missed and their sorrow, ANP reports.

According to the police, these videos' primary intent is to again draw attention to the investigation into the disaster. "As the years pass, people can still have important information", a police spokesperson said, according to the news wire. 

The investigation into the MH17 disaster is in a difficult phase and far from over, the Public Prosecutor wrote in a digital magazine meant to keep the victims' relatives informed about what is happening in the MH17 file. The investigators are having trouble getting data from the Ukrainian secret service and cooperation with Russia remains difficult, the Prosecutor wrote on Monday, RTL Nieuws reports.

The investigation is now in its "most difficult phase", the Prosecutor wrote. "Booking progress at this stage is much more difficult."

Dutch singers O3GNE made it through to the finals of the Eurovision Song Contest. They will perform sixth in the finals in Kiev, Ukraine on Saturday. Their position was determined by a lottery after the second semi-final on Thursday, NU.nl reports.