You're reading: Rada may extend until August 2017 agreement on intl mission to protect MH17 investigation

Representative of Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko in parliament Artur Herasymov has proposed to the Rada to extend the term of the agreement between Ukraine and the Netherlands involving the International mission on protecting the investigation of causes of the downing of the MH17 flight in June 2014 in the militant-held area of Donetsk region.

“Ukraine’s president has submitted to the Rada a draft law on ratifying the agreement by an exchange of notes between Ukraine and the Kingdom of the Netherlands, to extend the agreement from July 28, 2014 until August 1, 2017. The draft law must be considered during the next week of plenary sessions because its passage will facilitate further cooperation of the sides in investigating the reasons behind the MH17 tragedy, which took place on July 17, 2014,” Herasymov said during a meeting of the conciliatory Rada on Oct. 17.

As earlier reported, the Boeing 777 belonging to Malaysia Arlines flying from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur (Malaysia) was shot out of the sky killing all 298 passengers on board.

The international joint investigatory group (Joint Investigation Team, JIT), which is comprised of prosecutors and law-enforcement officials from Ukraine, the Netherlands, Belgium, Australia, and Malaysia, as well as EU legal officials, on Sept. 28, 2016 presented its findings in the criminal investigation of the tragedy.

“The JIT concluded that MH17 was downed by a rocket, Series 9M38, launched from a self-propelled ground-to-missile launcher BUK-TELAR, in a farming area in the region of Pervomaiske village. The area is currently held by pro-Russian militant groups. Investigators said missile complex was delivered to Ukraine from the Russian Federation and returned there after the downing,” the findings said.

During July 2015 the Verkhovna Rada approved a similar law.

On October 11 Poroshenko submitted a draft bill on extending the agreement between Ukraine and the Netherlands on the International mission protecting the investigation into the circumstances of the downed passenger liner over Donbas during the summer of 2014.