MH17: Bodies arrive in Kharkiv as EU discusses new sanctions – live updates
- EU foreign ministers to weigh new sanctions against Russia
- Recovery teams receive trains carrying bodies
- Five die in heavy fighting in Donetsk
- UN security council demands access to crash site
- Previous live coverage
Malaysia's BFM Radio is reporting that the authorities have begun collecting DNA samples from next of kin in order to identify MH17 passengers, I'm told by Kate Hodal in Kuala Lumpur.
Tony Tyler, head of the International Air Transport Association, says the downing of flight MH17 was a "hideous crime" and hurdles to a probe of the tragedy are an "outrage". Here is part of his statement.
The tragedy of MH17 is an outrage. Over the weekend it was confirmed that the passengers and crew aboard the aircraft were the victims of a hideous crime. It was also an attack against the air transport system which is an instrument of peace.Among the immediate priorities, the bodies of the victims must be returned to their grieving loved ones in a respectful manner. For over four days we witnessed appalling sights from the crash scene. Governments must set aside their differences and treat the victims and their families with the dignity they deserve – and this includes urgently securing the site.
Public inquiry to be held into the death of Russian ex-spy Alexander Litvinenko
Theresa May, the home secretary, announced the move in a written ministerial statement today, saying: "It is more than seven years since Mr Litvinenko's death, and I very much hope that this inquiry will be of some comfort to his widow."
Mystery has surrounded the death of the former KGB officer since he died after drinking tea laced with radioactive polonium-210 with two ex-colleagues at a London hotel in 2006. But the latest move will mean investigators can investigate whether the Russian state was behind his murder.
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Kate Hodal also says the black boxes will go to the Netherlands and then to Kuala Lumpur, although the timing on this is unclear. The bodies of Malaysian victims are expected to return by Eid, the end of Ramadan, which is july 28.
The Guardian's Kate Hodal, who is in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, says the Malaysian prime minister, Najib Razak, has won praise for his handling of MH17. He was involved in closed-door discussions with pro-Russian rebels after the crash and had managed to secure the transfer of the black boxes and the remains of 228 bodies early this morning.
Within an hour after state-controlled Malaysia Airlines confirmed the flight was missing, Najib called for an immediate investigation and began working the phones with world leaders including Russia's Vladimir Putin. He also dispatched top officials to press for access to the rebel-held Ukraine crash site, and demanded justice for those responsible."MH370 was a much more complicated situation... but regardless, the leadership has moved with much more confidence (on MH17)," said Ibrahim Suffian, head of Merdeka Center, Malaysia's top polling organisation. "They have been able to achieve some concrete outcomes and I think at least in Malaysia, that is already being portrayed very positively."
The Guardian's Gabrielle Chan reports on a condolence ceremony at Australia's federal parliament in Canberra. Here is an extract.
A condolence book ceremony usually focuses on dignitaries, but in the public hall of the federal parliament on Tuesday the tragedy of the MH17 air disaster was best reflected in the faces of the schoolchildren watching.They were more touching than the official party with their sombre suits, bowed heads and low tones. More stirring than the choir singing The Lord is My Shepherd. More moving than the music – Albinoni’s adagio in G minor, also the soundtrack for Peter Weir’s movie of the much bigger disaster that was Gallipoli.The children who were there just happened to have a school excursion on 22 July 2014, and they managed to see an unusual ceremony that will probably stay with them for life. Likewise, the children and their families like the Maslins and the van den Hendes who died on the plane just happened to take MH17. It was as random as that.It is the childrens’ tragedy that has twisted the knife in people around the world as they process the reality of the murder of 298 people. Away from the politics and the United Nations with its resolutions, it is the mundane moments like the sight of a wellworn stuffed toy flung into a field that bring many of us undone.
Philip Hammond, who has just taken over from William Hague as foreign secretary, says Europe must send a "clear signal" that Russia's support for pro-Moscow separatist rebels in eastern Ukraine cannot be allowed to continue after the downing of Malaysia Airlines flight MH17. Arriving in Brussels for talks with EU foreign ministers to discuss possible new sanctions against Russia, Hammond said:
This terrible incident happened in the first place because of Russia's support to the separatists in eastern Ukraine, because of the flow of heavy weapons from Russia into eastern Ukraine, and we have to address that issue. The world has changed since the European council last week. The events of last Thursday have changed public expectations on us and we have to send a clear signal from our meeting today that we recognise that and that we are going to go further as a consequence of what has happened.
The black boxes, which are in fact orange, being handed over by separatists rebels in Donetsk.
Reuters has this report on the arrival of the train carrying bodies from MH17.
A train carrying the remains of many of the nearly 300 victims of the Malaysia Airlines plane downed over Ukraine arrived in Ukrainian government territory on Tuesday as a separatist leader handed over the plane's black boxes to Malaysian experts.The train carrying around 200 body bags arrived in the eastern city of Kharkiv, which is in Ukrainian government hands. The bodies will then be taken back to the Netherlands to be identified.The train left the crash site after the Malaysian prime minister agreed with the separatists for recovered bodies to be handed over to authorities in the Netherlands, where two thirds of the victims came from.Early on Tuesday, senior separatist leader Aleksander Borodai handed over the black boxes in the city of Donetsk."Here they are, the black boxes," Borodai told journalists at the headquarters of his self-proclaimed Donetsk People's Republic as an armed rebel placed the boxes on a desk.Colonel Mohamed Sakri of the Malaysian National Security Council said the two black boxes were "in good condition".
The Guardian's Alec Luhn in Moscow sends this snippet on Russian concerns about the "information war" over MH17. He emails:
The newspaper Izvestiya, which is known for often reporting government leaks, reported that the security council would discuss the "information war being waged against Russia," citing a source close to the council.Among the proposals those at the meeting will discuss is the organisation of systemic counter-propaganda to form public opinion both outside of and within Russia, it said."They need to carefully distribute their forces to maximally neutralize the threats arising with accusations that Russia all but provoked this incident," said Alexei Mukhin, head of the Centre for Political Information."It's necessary to defend the sovereignty of Russia in the information sphere, because today negative processes within Russian society could be released through social networks and the internet," said Igor Korotchenko, editor of the journal National Defence.
Ukrainian parliament approves call-up of more military reserves
The Ukrainian parliament has approved a presidential decree to call up more military reserves and men under 50 to fight rebels in eastern Ukraine and in response to a buildup of Russian troops on the border. Reuters reports:
Some 45 days after the latest call-up of additional reserves, which has now expired, Kiev repeated the decree to "declare and conduct partial mobilisation" to ensure the ranks of what Ukraine calls its "anti-terrorist operation" are filled.After the vote, brief scuffles broke out between nationalist politicians and members of the party that was led by the former president, Viktor Yanukovich, who was overthrown in February. Ukrainian troops have forced pro-Russian rebels back to their two main strongholds, the cities of Donetsk and Luhansk, slowly taking villages and city suburbs around them."Russia continues its policy of escalating its armed confrontation," Ukraine's top security official, Andriy Paruby, told parliament before 232 deputies in the 450-seat parliament voted in favour of the decree.Reiterating accusations levelled by Ukrainian officials against Moscow, he said: "Over the last week, close to the Ukrainian border, there has been a regrouping and build-up of forces of the Russian Federation."Paruby put the numbers close to the border at 41,000 and said they were equipped with 150 tanks, 400 armoured vehicles and 500 other weapon systems.
The Telegraph's Harriet Alexander sent this picture from Amsterdam.
Train carrying remains of victims arrives in Kharkiv
The train of refrigerated carriages finally rolled out of the station in the rebel-controlled city of Torez last night carrying bodies collected from the crash site in recent days. The train contained the bodies of 282 of the victims as well as 87 "other body fragments".
The Russian papers give a very different slant to what is being reported in the west on the downing of MH17. Some claim it was shot down by the Ukrainian military, which mistook the passenger jet for a military aircraft. Some suggest the culprit was a terrorist attack on board. Radio Free Europe Radio Liberty has this round-up of what the Russian papers say. Here is an extract.
The daily "Komsomolskaya pravda" ran a commentarytitled “Who fired the Buk?” by military commentator Viktor Baranets. The piece argues that it is unlikely that pro-Moscow separatists shot down Flight MH17. The more likely scenario, Baranets argues, is that the passenger jetliner was downed by the Ukrainian military, which mistook it for a Russian military aircraft.
This is not strictly connected to Ukraine, but the fact that Britain is set to announce a public inquiry today into the death of poisoned ex Russian spy Alexander Litvinenko is not going to help UK-Russia relations at this particular juncture. The Press Association reports:
The latest move, which will be announced in a written statement by home secretary Theresa May, will mean investigators can probe whether the Russian state was behind his murder.The government has until now resisted launching a public inquiry, and instead said it would "wait and see" what a judge-led inquest found.But Mr Litvinenko's widow Marina challenged this and the High Court ruled the Home Secretary must reconsider its decision. The move is likely anger Russian President Vladimir Putin at a time when relations are strained in the aftermath of the downing of the Malaysia Airlines flight in Ukraine.
Colum Lynch's account of proceedings at the UN security council last night conveys the anger in the room. He writes on the Foreign Policy website:
"The demise of almost 200 of my compatriots has left a hole in the heart of the Dutch nation, has caused grief, anger, and despair," Dutch Foreign Minister Frans Timmermans told the council. "Grief for the loss of loved ones, anger for the outrage of the downing of a civilian airplane, and despair after witnessing the excruciatingly slow process of securing the crash site and recovering the remains of the victims."Timmermans, who looked visibly shaken, said his government has been shocked by reports of bodies being moved and looted."It must be unbearable first to lose your husband and then to have to fear that some thug might steal his wedding ring from his remains. To my dying day I will not understand that it took so much time for the rescue workers to be allowed to do their difficult jobs and that human remains should be used in a political game," he said.Australian Foreign Minister Julie Bishop, whose nation lost 37 citizens, called the lack of access "despicable.""It is an affront to the victims and their families," she told the council.
Russia says it is ready to offer full cooperation with the international investigation into the downing of MH17 after backing the UN security council resolution on the investigation. Agence France-Presse reports:
"Russia is ready to give such an investigation comprehensive help including providing the necessary specialists," the Russian foreign ministry said in a statement.Russia said that it backed the International Civil Aviation Organisation playing an "active role" after insisting on changes to wording of the resolution to clarify that Ukraine would not take the lead role in the probe.The investigation must not show "prejudice in defining the possible culprits in the disaster or anticipation of any results of the investigation," Russia emphasised.
EU foreign ministers meet in Brussels today to consider possible new sanctions against Russia for its support of separatist rebels in Ukraine. David Cameron is leading the charge for tougher economic sanctions, but France and other EU countries with lucrative contracts with Russia can be expected to show reluctance to go along with the British prime minister. We will bring you the latest news on the crisis in the Ukraine on this liveblog. Here are the main points sor far.
- David Cameron says EU will blacklist the "cronies and oligarchs" around Vladimir Putin as part of "a new range of hard-hitting economic sanctions".
- The train carrying the bodies has left Donetsk and is on its way to Kharkiv, where Ukrainian and Dutch recovery teams are waiting.
- Heavy fighting broke out in Donetsk between rebels and the Ukrainian military, killing five people. Many civilians evacuated from the rebel stronghold, and all were told to stay indoors. A convoy of separatist forces was seen leaving the city.
- Russian ambassador to Malaysia Lyudmila Vorobyeva has told media in Kuala Lumpur she is "convinced" the separatist rebels were not behind the shooting down of the plane.
- The UN Security Council adopted a resolution demanding access to the crash site and an independent investigation,as well as a ceasefire around the area. The US ambassador accused Russia of telling separatists "We have your backs," and Russia's envoy implied the US and Ukraine were turning "tragedy into a farce". Dutch prosecutors opened a war crimes investigationinto the downing of flight MH17.
- Separatists handed two MH17 black boxes to a Malaysian delegation, after a separatist leader made a deal with Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak.
- US President Barack Obama said "the burden is on Russia"to use its influence and ensure full access to the crash site,as well as to allow a "immediate and transparent investigation". The US reiterated its assertion that a SA-11 missile system shot down MH17 from separatist-controlled territory, and its suspicion of Russian aid.
- Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko said separatist should be designated "terrorists" by the international community, and denied aclaim from Russia's defense ministry that a Ukrainian warplane was flying near MH17 at the time of the crash. Russian army officials denied providing a Buk missile system to separatists.
- Russia's President Vladimir Putin delivered an addressafter speaking with several world leaders and called for a "humanitarian corridor" to all for recover and investigation. He stopped short of calling on rebels to disarm, saying the disaster should not be used for "narrow, political reasons".
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