The Netherlands is considering calling for an international tribunal, backed by the UN Security Council, to prosecute those responsible for downing Malaysia Airlines’ flight MH17 in Ukraine’s eastern region of Donetsk in July 2014, which could become the best option for the cooperation of all countries involved.
Other legal options are also being considered, however, any domestic court is doomed to fail, the sources say.
Meanwhile, the international investigation into the crash is still underway. Earlier in June, the Netherlands sent another investigative mission to eastern Ukraine for yet another on-site probe to research any additional evidence related to the cause of the crash.
The Dutch Safety Board, which is investigating the crash, published a preliminary report last year stating the plane fell apart in midair after being hit by numerous high-energy objects. A final report is due in October.
The Kiev government and Western nations have repeatedly accused independence supporters in eastern Ukraine of firing a Russian-made Buk surface-to-air missile at the airliner.
Also in June, Russian arms manufacturer Almaz-Antey however unveiled the results of its own inquiry, showing that the type of Buk missile alleged to have been fired at flight MH17 has not been produced in Russia since 1999, but remains in service in the Ukrainian army.
“During the first stage of our investigation, the type of system was established. It was a Buk-M1 system [NATO reporting name SA-11], a 9М38-М1 rocket and a 9М314 warhead,” the head engineer of the company then said at a news conference.
“We have conclusive evidence that the Ukrainian armed forces have this type of missile,” Almaz-Antey general director Yan Novikov then told the journalists.
Flight MH17, en route from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur, crashed over Ukraine’s eastern region of Donetsk on July 17, 2014, killing 298 people on board.
