Ukranian govt assures MH17 probe continues despite PM's resignation

The Ukrainian government today gave the assurance that the investigation into the crash of Malaysia Airlines Flight MH17 in Ukraine would go on despite the resignation of Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk last Thursday.

Ukraine Ambassador to Malaysia, Ihor V. Humennyi said the investigation work was currently ongoing and the Ukrainian government had vowed 'not to rest' until the killers had been tracked down and brought to justice.

The Ukrainian authorities were continuing to render all possible assistance to the international investigation team by providing the necessary technical equipment and personnel, and all means to repatriate the victims' bodies to their respective countries, he told Bernama.

"We (the Ukrainian Government) assure you there is nothing to worry. We are working very intensely to assist the international team and bring those who caused this ill-fated tragedy of MH17 to justice.

"In fact, yesterday, Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko spoke to Malaysian Prime Minister (Datuk Seri) Najib Razak, updating him on the tragedy so that this could be over as quick as possible," he said.

Flight MH17, carrying 298 people, including 15 crew, was flying from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur when it was believed to have been shot down in the Donetsk region in eastern Ukraine near the Russian border.

The aircraft had left Amsterdam at 12.15pm (Netherlands time) Thursday (July 17) and was to have arrived in Kuala Lumpur at 6.10 am (Malaysian time) on July 18.

It is believed that the Boeing 777-200 aircraft was shot down. Malaysia has vowed to find out precisely what caused MH17 to crash. A Malaysian special investigation team arrived in Ukraine last Saturday.

Two days ago, Prime Minister Yatsenyuk resigned after the nationalist Svoboda party and the Udar party withdrew from the ruling coalition.

On the raw military radar data manifest, Humennyi said the Ukrainian government was ready to share the information with the international commission of experts investigating the accident.