MH17: Suspected shooter of chief investigator arrested

The rebuilt fuselage of Malaysia Airlines flight MH17 during a press conference to present the report findings of the Dutch Safety Board in Gilze Rijen, The Netherlands, 13 October 2015. - EPA

PETALING JAYA: Police in Ukraine have arrested a man over the shooting of the chief forensic expert in the MH17 investigations.

According to report in Britain’s Independent, Oleksandr Ruvin, who is Ukraine’s most senior forensic scientist, was shot in the leg last year in an attack that the authorities suspect was connected to his part in the investigations into the crash.

The report added that Ukrainian prosecutor’s office released a statement to say that Anatoliy Matios, the country’s chief military prosecutor, would be holding a briefing later on Monday regarding the arrest.

Dutch-led investigators concluded in October last year that the Malaysia Airlines flight was hit by a BUK fired from rebel-held territory, but did not give precise details nor definitively say who was responsible.

The Dutch investigation continues, with the Dutch media reports in February stating that criminal investigators will establish the spot from where the missile was fired “within months”.

All 298 passengers aboard the ill-fated flight, the majority of them Dutch, were killed when the plane came down in eastern Ukraine.