Dutch Investigative Report On MH17 Downing Due
Dutch air crash investigators release their final report on October 13 on the downing of Malaysia Airlines Flight MH17 over war-torn Ukraine, in a move likely to worsen already-tense ties between Russia and the West.
Findings from the Dutch Safety Board's 15-month inquiry are due to be released in the morning. Prime Minister Mark Rutte will speak to the press afterward.
The report is expected to say how the Boeing 777 was blown from the sky on July 17, 2014, but not who was responsible.
Preliminary findings by the board said it was hit by "high-energy objects from outside the aircraft."
All 298 people on board, most of them Dutch, were killed when the routine flight between Amsterdam and Kuala Lumpur was brought down -- possibly by a missile -- over eastern Ukraine.
The disaster happened during heavy fighting between Ukrainian forces and pro-Russian separatists. Kyiv and the West have blamed the rebels.
But both Moscow and state-owned arms maker Almaz-Antey deny the charges, saying the plane was instead likely brought down by a Buk missile fired by Kyiv.
Almaz-Antey said it will unveil the "real reasons" for the MH17 disaster at a simultaneous press conference in Moscow.
Based on reporting by AFP and Reuters
Barring any major developments, that ends our live blogging for tonight
Just reupping that Mashable piece ahead of the Dutch Safety Board report on MH17, which is due out tomorrow.
Worth re-upping this excellent piece again:
Latest on Ukraine ban on Russian airlines:
Ukraine’s government says it is banning all Russian airlines from flying into Ukraine from October 25 in response to Moscow's decision in September to impose a similar ban on Ukrainian airlines.
The punitive measure announced on October 12 concerns only two carriers -- Siberia's UTair and the tiny Saratov Airlines -- because Kyiv had earlier barred bigger Russian firms in reprisal for Moscow's March 2014 annexation of Crimea.
Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko on September 16 blacklisted Russia's flag carrier Aeroflot and three other state-held companies that offered regular flights to Ukraine.
The State Air Service in Kyiv said the Russian carriers are not be allowed to land in Ukraine but would still be permitted to cross its airspace to other destination points.
The only remaining options for air travel between Russia and Ukraine are by flying via the Baltic states or some other country with relatively convenient access to Russia.
Separatists from the so-called Luhansk People’s Republic say they have scheduled elections for February 21, 2016. The relevant “decree” was published on separatist websites today. On October 9 the self-proclaimed Donetsk People’s Republic said it had scheduled elections for March 20, 2016.
Separatists claim that before the elections “Ukraine must grant special status to Donbas, prevent prosecution and punishment of participants of the events in Donbas and vote for constitutional changes in accordance with separatists’ wording.”
According to the Minsk agreement, however, local elections on the territories currently under control of the pro-Russian separatists may be held only in accordance with Ukrainian law. This means that only Ukrainian parliament can schedule elections, but not “DPR” or “LPR” leaders.
Local elections in Ukraine will take place on October 25.