As report examines MH17 passengers' final seconds, Moscow presses international community on future status of eastern Ukraine:
Dutch Safety Board Chairman Tjibbe Joustra appears in an English version of a video accompanying the release of today's MH17 report.
He says the flight recordings and other data and information mentioned in the report:
"indicate that Flight MH17 proceeded as normal until it ended abruptly. Listening to the communications among the crew members in the cockpit via the cockpit voice recorder reveals no sign of any technical faults or an emergency situation. The pattern created by wreckage on the ground suggests an in-flight breakup of the aircraft. The available images show that pieces of wreckage were punctured in numerous places. The pattern of damage to the body of the aircraft and the cockpit is consistent with the damage that would be expected from a large number of high-energy objects that penetrated the aircraft. This is probably what led to the structural damage to the aircraft and would also explain the abrupt end to the data registration on the recorders, the simultaneous loss of contact with air-traffic control, and the aircraft's disappearance from the radar. The initial results of the investigations point towards an external cause of the MH17 crash. More research will be necessary to determine the cause with greater precision. The Safety Board believes that additional evidence will become available for the investigation in the period ahead. From this point on, the investigation team will be working towards reducing its final report. The board aims to publish this report within one year of the date of the crash."
Watch it here:
Final, interrupted air-traffic-control conversation with Flight MH17's cockpit:
h/t: Guardian
Separatists in Donetsk, eastern Ukraine, yesterday celebrated the 71st anniversary of the city's liberation from German forces in 1943. Speakers told a crowd of several hundred the battle against ''fascism'' was continuing, referring to the current conflict against Ukrainian government forces. The cease-fire is part of a 12-point plan that calls on Kyiv to grant special status to Donetsk and Luhansk, but separatist leaders insisted at the rally they would achieve full independence. (RFE/RL's Moldova Service)
Our newsroom update on the MH17 report:
Dutch Probe Says Malaysian Jet That Crashed In Ukraine Was Penetrated, Torn Apart
Today's situation map from the Ukrainian National Security and Defense Council:
