Malaysia Flight MH17 Crash: Pro-Russia Separatists Send Black Boxes, Human Remains to Investigators
The bodies of 282 passengers who were aboard the Malaysia Airlines flight shot down over east Ukraine last week are being sent to Dutch authorities Monday, in addition to black boxes that will be sent to Malaysian investigators.
Russian authorities made the announcement after both President Barack Obama and Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko criticized the pro-Russia separatists' handling of the crash site. The leaders suggested that Moscow is helping ethnic Russians in east Ukraine cover up the crash, The Associated Press reports.
Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak then announced that the separatists agreed to give the black boxes to Malaysian investigators who are investigating the crash in Ukraine.
The remains of the victims are being held in the town of Torez, which is being held by rebels, then are being moved by train to Kharkiv in Ukraine, where they will be given to Dutch officials. The remains will then be flown to Amsterdam.
Most of the passengers killed in the crash were Dutch. Other people aboard MH17 were from Malaysia, Australia, Indonesia, England, Germany, Belgium, the Philippines, Canada and New Zealand.
On Monday, Poroshenko said that the terrorism displayed in the east is a "danger to the whole world" and to "global security."
Obama also called on Russia to bring the rebel fighters who are believed to have mistakenly downed the passenger jet to justice. The crash killed all 298 people on board.
He said Russia has not succeeded in stopping the rebels from hindering investigators at the site and excused them of treating the remains poorly.
"What exactly are they trying to hide?" he asked.
Obama said that Russia needs to persuade rebels to cooperate with the investigation.
Yet, European monitors at the site said that conditions have improved since the immediate aftermath of the crash.
"Today we have three Dutch forensics experts with us, and they're getting pretty much unfettered access," Michael Bociurkiw, the spokesman for monitors from the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe, told CNN.
The separatists also provided some security to keep journalists away from the crash site and to allow OSCE monitors, Dutch forensic experts and Ukrainian aviation experts to investigate the scene.
Dutch experts said that they are "more or less" satisfied now with how the bodies are being stored.
Poroshenko said that the bodies of 16 people are still missing.
Meanwhile, fighting continued around the train station in Donetsk Monday between Ukrainian officials and rebel forces. City officials reported damage to a residential building near the station and said a market caught fire because of shelling.
Ukrainian officials said the interruption in train service will hinder investigators from going to and from the crash site.
The suspended train service could also prevent the transport of the human remains from the crash.
Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte met with the families and friends of the victims Monday, calling the meetings sad and "very touching."
"All of the Netherlands is feeling their fury. All of the Netherlands is sharing their deep sadness, and all of the Netherlands is just gathering around all the next of kin," he told CNN.
While the families mourn, intelligence analysts are working to find out whether Russian officials had any involvement in the shooting down of the plane. Moscow has denied such allegations.
U.S. intelligence analysts are examining social media posts and phone conversations to see if Russian officials played any role in the crash.
"We are trying to determine if they manned it, advised, or pulled the trigger," one official speaking on the condition of anonymity told CNN.
While Russia's involvement is not certain, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry said that it is clear that pro-Russian rebels shot down the airliner.
Kerry said there is a video of the launcher with one surface-to-air missile missing, as well as imagery showing the firing of the missile and calls of rebels taking credit for the downing.
Putin fired back against criticism from Western leaders with a statement posted on the Kremlin's website Monday that claims Russia supports peace in Ukraine.
"We have repeatedly called on all parties to immediately stop the bloodshed and to sit down at the negotiating table. We can confidently say that if June 28 fighting in eastern Ukraine did not resume, this tragedy most likely would not have happened," he said. "However, no one should have the right to use this tragedy to achieve selfish political objectives. Such events should not divide but unite people."
Russian officials also suggested Monday that a Ukrainian fighter jet could have shot down the plane.
Law enforcement officials from the U.S., the Netherlands and Australia are also helping lead the Ukrainian government's investigation.