KIEV, Sept. 20 (Xinhua) -- Five countries which are investigating the downing of Malaysia Airlines flight MH17 in July 2014 over Ukraine will jointly finance the criminal prosecution over the crash, local media reported Wednesday.
According to the Interfax-Ukraine news agency, the governments of the Netherlands, Australia, Malaysia, Belgium and Ukraine, whose representatives form the Joint Investigation Team (JIT), will soon sign a draft memorandum to co-finance the prosecution of those guilty of downing the plane.
In July, the JIT has adopted a decision to probe the case in a Dutch court.
Flight MH17 crashed in the conflict zone in eastern Ukraine on July 17, 2014, while flying from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur. All 298 people on board died, including 196 Dutch citizens.
A report published by the JIT in September 2016 concluded that the plane was shot down by a Russian-made Buk missile fired from a region in eastern Ukraine controlled by independence-seeking insurgents.
Moscow and the leadership of the insurgents in eastern Ukraine have denied the allegations, saying that the plane was hit by a missile from the territory controlled by Ukrainian government troops.
In December 2016, the JIT said that it had identified about 100 people who were linked to the crash.
The armed conflict between the government and the insurgents in eastern Ukraine has been underway since April 2014, claiming some 10,000 lives.
