Latest updates: MH17 disaster

The UN has voted in favour of an Australian resolution for MH17 crash site access.

She achieved a major win for Australia at the UN this morning, but that doesn't mean Julie Bishop is a household name internationally just yet. Picture: Gary Ramage Source: News Corp Australia

PRIME Minister Tony Abbott says the MH17 crash scene has been severely tampered with and "after the crime comes the cover-up".

Mr Abbott told a media conference this afternoon an Australian military plane would be used to transport MH17 victims to the Netherlands where they would be identified — beginning a process he hoped would mean they were returned to their loved ones.

He said it would be a slow process and it was important to take care so the right remains of the victims went where they were supposed to.

"As frustrating as this is, we do have to get it right. It would be terrible to compound families' grief by risking the misidentification of their loved ones."

He was more optimistic today about, "how things might turn out" but cautioned there was still much work to be done.

Much of that depended on Russian President Vladmir Putin honouring his word to allow a full and fair investigation.

So far, the scene had been subjected to an "industrial" size tampering and "after the crime comes the cover-up", the Prime Minister said.

"This site has been trampled from the beginning ... Random individuals roaming around the site ... The more recent footage looks more like a building demolition than a forensic investigation."

Although he believed the best security for the site would be from the countries who have lost citizens, he would not commit defence force staff or AFP officers to the task — but equally didn't rule out Australian forces joining a multinational team later.

"A multinational police force or a multinational force of some kind is not something that can be just summoned up in a matter of a few hours."

He would not discuss details of his conversations with world leaders on the matter of crash scene security.

Despite the tampering and contamination he was confident there was an "enormous amount" of evidence of MH17's final moments — and the weapon that brought it down — that could still be found.

Mr Abbott said his determination, and that of the Government's, was driven by "doing the right thing" by the Australian victims and their families who were suffering "almost unimaginable grief".

Monitors from the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) and members of a forensic team inspect a refrigerator wagon containing the remains of victims from Flight MH17 Source: AFP

EARLIER

• Bodies of MH17 victims transported to the Netherlands

• UN backs Australian Foreign Minister Julie Bishop

• IN PICS: Violence erupts in Donetsk

• Poor Julie Bishop can't catch a break with UN counterparts

• Black boxes finally handed over

• Pro-Russian rebels announce ceasefire within 10km of crash site

• Malaysia Airlines resumes flights from Australia

• Heartbreaking treatment of what little is left of passengers' belongings

• A message of condolence from Prime Minister Tony Abbott

LIVE UPDATES

10.28pm

Mark Rutte, the Prime Minister of the Netherlands, has warned that the identification of some of the bodies could take months.

"Tomorrow the first plane (with bodies) will leave for Eindhoven" in the southern Netherlands, Rutte told journalists after the bodies arrived in Kharkiv.

"Preparations will be made in Kharkiv so that identification can be done in the Netherlands as well as possible," Rutte said.

"As soon as a victim is identified first and foremost the family will be informed and no one else. That can take weeks or months."

8.41pm

Australia's Operation Bring Them Home will begin straight away with the bodies to be flown to the Netherlands where an international team, including forensic experts from Australia, will identify the dead. The transfer of the bodies is expected to be observed by Australia's ambassador to Ukraine, Jean Dunn, and a defence attache from London.

The plane will be greeted in Amsterdam by Australia's ambassador to the Netherlands, Neil Mules, and a defence attache from The Hague.

The identification process will likely involve using both DNA and dental records.

7.08pm

THE bodies of the MH17 air disaster victims have arrived by train in Kharkiv — the first step in their long journey home.

An Australian plane will be involved in the transportation of the victims' bodies from Ukraine to Amsterdam, Prime Minister Tony Abbott told reporters.

A RAAF C-17 transport jet will fly the bodies of the 37 Australian citizens and residents killed to the Netherlands under phase one of Operation Bring Them Home, which will be headed by retired Air Chief Marshal Angus Houston.

6.30pm

The long journey home for many of the MH17 victims has begun. The train the bodies are on has reached Kharkov, which is in Ukraine terriority and not a rebel stronghold. CNN reports the refrigerated train has arrived at the rail station but will continue to an undisclosed location. The victims will then be flown to the Netherlands for identification.

5.10pm

In a grim but necessary move, Malaysian officials have begun collecting DNA samples from the families of the Malaysian passengers and the 15 crew members on board MH17.

The crew families and the families of the passengers were asked to meet at two Kuala Lumpur hotels for briefings about the latest in the tragic case, but also to give DNA samples.

Relatives of the Malaysian MH17 passengers have given DNA samples

4.30pm

Condolence books will be placed at public locations across NSW so people can pay tribute to the victims of flight MH17.

NSW Premier Mike Baird says the books will be made available at locations across NSW including Parliament House, the Sydney Opera House and NSW electorate offices.

A Condolence Book in the Marble Foyer of Parliament House, Canberra today, signed by (from top): Gov. Gen. Peter Cosgrove, PM Tony Abbott, Speaker Bronwyn Bishop, President of the Senate Stephen Parry and other MPs Source: News Corp Australia

4.20pm

Although Malaysia Airlines says it is totally focused on the families of MH17 victims, there is growing speculation the airline will be delisting as a publicly traded company, Bloomberg reports.

3.50pm

The rebel leader, self styled President of the Donetsk People's Republic, Alexander Borodai, continues to say the bodies will leave Donestk tonight, but at the moment they are still being held on the train

3.10pm

While Prime Minister Tony Abbott says Russian President Vladmir Putin is so far keeping his word regarding the MH17 crisis, leaders in Europe will meet to discuss possible sanctions against Moscow.

2.00pm

Experts say Flight MH17 was likely sheared apart from the blast wave caused by the missile. It was also showered with small pieces of shrapnel that gave it no chance, The New York Times reports.

1.45pm

The impact o f the MH370 and MH17 disasters is taking its toll on Malaysia Airlines staff, many of whom are reportedly too scared to fly now.

Counselling has been offered to all staff but their union say some are too unstable too fly at the moment.

1.30pm

In a bizarre interview, the self styled President of the Donetsk People's Republic, Alexander Borodai, rolled his eyes and sighed when discussing the MH17 tragedy with CNN.

He even compared the disaster zone to "black humour", claiming members of the OSCE said the bodies would be their responsibility once they started moving the bodies.

"It got to the point where it resembled if not a horror movie, then black humour.

Borodai also denied Russia's involvement with the catastrophe, or separatists even having the weapons used to bring down MH17.

12:50pm

12:45pm

The Russian Ambassador to Malaysia, Lyudmila G. Vorobyeva, has spoken to media with some real corkers. Here are the best quotes:

"The situation is quite unique, it's happened in a war zone so the international community should be flexible and act in a way that's acceptable to all the sides."

12:40pm

A grief-stricken Dutch man who lost his only child on Malaysia Airlines flight MH17 has sent a scathing letter to Russian President Vladimir Putin, saying his life has been ruined.

Hans de Borst's daughter Elsemiek, 17, was killed along with her mother on the doomed plane when it was shot down over eastern Ukraine on Thursday.

Mr de Borst explained how the tragic incident had robbed his daughter of her bright future.

"I hope you are proud to have turned her young life upside down and that you can look in the mirror!" he wrote.

12:10pm

Analyst at the Royal United Services Institute in London, Justin Bronk, has tweeted what he says is photographic evidence that MH17 was brought down by a missile strike.

12:05pm

11:55am

Malaysia Airlines has diverted flights from one war zone to another.

A tweet from real-time air traffic monitor Flightradar24 yesterday revealed that the airline changed the flight path of its Kuala Lumpur-to-London flight from a route over Ukraine to a route over Syria.

And here's what the airline had to say in response.

Makes you feel real safe, doesn't it?

11:50am

The Dutch military plane that will transport the bodies of those who died on MH17 has landed in the Ukraine city of Kharkiv.

Members of the Netherlands forensic investigation team LTFO arrived at the government-controlled city's airport around 3am (1000 AEST) local time.

They'll work with other experts in the difficult task of transferring the remains of almost 300 victims from a Soviet-era refrigerated train to the their C130 Hercules, reports AAP.

They will repackage the bodies if necessary and take them as soon as possible to the Netherlands for identification.

The refrigerated train carrying those who perished aboard Malaysia Airlines flight 17 left the rebel town of Torez in eastern Ukraine at 7pm local time on Monday.

It was initially hoped the train could make it to Kharkiv in around six hours but it has reportedly been delayed in Donetsk which has experienced sporadic military conflict.

It's now expected to arrive later on Tuesday.

Alexander Hug (R), Deputy Chief Monitor of the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) Special Monitoring Mission to Ukraine, visits a train containing the bodies of victims. Picture: Brendan Hoffman Source: Getty Images

11:30am

Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has just finished a live QandA at Twitter's headquarters in San Francisco to discuss her new book, Hard Choices, and her thoughts on MH17.

According to Clinton, the proof is "in the pudding" as to Russia's involvement in MH17.

She warned Putin's goal was to have the ultimate veto over eastern Ukraine and we need to be "clever" to outsmart Putin. She added the only way to stop Putin was by "talking and opening dialogue and sanctions".

11:15am

The Wall Street Journal's Jason Bellini with The Short Answer ...

11:00am

A message of condolence from Prime Minister Tony Abbott.

Condolence message written by the PM to open a new national condolence book for MH17 victims. Source: Supplied

10:40am

Vladimir Putin has no soul.

Well, that's what U.S. Vice President Joe Biden concluded after meeting with the Russian leader at the Kremlin in 2011, according to an article in the New Yorker published online Monday.

Biden told the magazine about his 2011 visit with Putin, who at the time was prime minister, and said he found himself just inches away from the Russian leader.

"I said, 'Mr. Prime Minister, I'm looking into your eyes, and I don't think you have a soul,'" Biden told the magazine.

"He looked back at me, and he smiled, and he said, 'We understand one another.'"

*Shudder*

Vladimir Putin motions to blow a kiss to journalists as he leaves the Itamaraty Palace after the BRICK Summit in Brasilia, Brazil. Picture: Felipe Dana Source: AP

10.20am

9:55am

As the bodies of MH17 victims make their long journey towards the Netherlands, the luggage — rifled and rummaged through — has stayed behind, apparently bound for the same destination on a later train. Heartbreaking to see the treatment of what little is left of passengers' belongings.

Pic Ella Pellegrini Source: News Corp Australia

9.50am

Nobel prize winner Françoise Barré-Sinoussi addresses loss of AIDS researchers on flight MH17 on ABC1's Q & A last night.

"For us it's very hard, as you can imagine. We have lost colleagues and friends. To us it was really difficult for us to decide whether to go on and the answer came very easily after we were thinking about our friends and colleagues. We said to ourselves, it's really what they would like us to do. So we have to go on. We have to move forward for them," she said.

The 20th International AIDS Conference, being held in Melbourne this week, was struck with tragedy when it was revealed that six of its delegates perished when MH17 was shot down over Ukraine.

9:45am

Malaysia Airlines has resumed all of its scheduled flights from Australia as normal.

The beleaguered company released a statement this morning thanking travel agents and passengers for their support since the MH17 disaster.

"The company reiterates that the Malaysian Government, the majority shareholder in Malaysia Airlines, is committed to ensuring the airline's long term future as its national carrier," the statement read.

9:30am

9:25am

Reports pro-Russian rebels have announced a 10km ceasefire around MH17 crash site, so investigators can begin work at the scene.

9:20am

Clues are beginning to emerge about exactly how the attack on Malaysia Airlines flight MH17 unfolded.

Aviation and defence experts believe bodies may contain missile shrapnel, chemical residue on the plane's wreckage could confirm definitively what type of weapon was used to shoot it down, and the crash location will illuminate the timing of the incident.

Read more about the latest theories to explain exactly what happened here.

9:05am

9am

More footage of yesterday's deadly fighting in Donetsk, close to where the bodies of MH17 victims were being held, shows the devastating affects of random shelling attacks and the difficulty international investigators face in reaching the crash site.

Smoke is still billowing from where the shell landed. Source: YouTube

Cars lay in tatters close to the scene. Source: YouTube

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8:45am

It's been a long day ...

8:25am

The pro-Russian separatists in eastern Ukraine have handed over the two black boxes from flight MH17.

Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak said earlier today that he had reached an agreement with separatist leader Aleksander Borodai, which will also allow independent international investigators safe access to the crash site.

8:15am

She may have achieved a significant win for Australia with the United Nations Security Council this morning, but that didn't stop social media from making a mockery of Julie Bishop. Or was that Judy?

The Dutch representative of the United Nations met with Australia's Foreign Minister, but made one important mistake. Awkward.

8:10am

Victims of the disaster have become embroiled in a global internet scam after fraudsters created fake Facebook tribute pages linked to dodgy pop-up ads.

Each page contains a single link to a blog site, allegedly containing a video and more information on the MH17 crash — deliberately built for the purpose of profit.

Once clicked on by Facebook users, they are served a variety of pop-up ads for online gambling, dating, get-rich-quick schemes, and other products and services.

Three of the fake pages set up have targeted Australian victims Otis, Evie and Mo Maslin, the young West Australian children who perished in the plane disaster in Ukraine.

A fake Facebook page set up in the name of one of MH17's victims. Source: Facebook

8:05am

More chaotic scenes from Donetsk where violence erupted overnight.

7:55am

A senior Russian official has implied that the presence of a Ukrainian military jet may be linked to the tragedy of MH17.

Lieutenant-General Andrei Kartopolov said the military aircraft was flying just a few kilometres away from the Malaysian Airlines plane minutes before it was downed, The Independent reports.

Talking to the media yesterday, he also denied allegations that Russia had provided the east Ukrainian separatists with BUK missile launchers.

Russia's Army General Staff Main Operative Department head, Lt.-Gen. Andrei Kartopolov. Source: AFP

7:50am

Ukraine forces shown on the move during yesterday's shelling attack in the suburban area of Donetsk.

7:40am

Incredible footage shows a family escape a shelling attack at a beach near Avdeevka, north from the city of Donetsk, on Sunday. Reports state Ukrainian forces are responsible for the attack.

Pretty scary stuff.

The family run for their lives as a shell is dropped on a local beach. Source: YouTube

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7:30am

Colourful London Mayor Boris Johnson has entered the debate of the MH17 disaster with some incendiary comments directed squarely at Russia.

7:25am

Actor Jason Biggs has apologised AGAIN for that appalling tweet he made last week.

Soon after news broke of the MH17 tragedy, the Orange is the New Black star took to Twitter to share this thought: "Anyone wanna buy my Malaysia Airlines frequent flyer miles?"

He initially defended his comments, saying they were a joke, but he eventually apologised for the tweet.

While he tweeted an apology on Saturday, he appeared on daytime talk show The View yesterday and said he was hoping to move on from the backlash he received.

"I certainly meant no harm, there was no malice behind it, but I was stupid ... It was offensive, it was poorly timed," Biggs explained.

7:05am

This local made a lucky escape during intense shelling in the suburban area of Donetsk.

6:55am

The tragedy of MH17 was compounded yesterday when intense fighting broke out in the Ukrainian region where Malaysia Airlines flight MH17 went down.

Shortly after 10am (5PM AEST) local time, suburban areas of Donetsk were hit by indiscriminate mortar shelling, sending residents fleeing for their lives.

A rebel fighter told AFP that Ukrainian Government troops had attacked their positions close to the Donetsk railway station.

News Corp Australia's journalist on the scene Charles Miranda saw at least four people killed in two separate mortar attacks including an elderly woman who had been walking through a courtyard park area.

Ukrainian Government officials refused to comment on the situation citing it as an "anti-terrorist" operation.

A firefighter attends extinguishes a fire of building annexes after combat between Ukrainian forces and the pro-Russian militants in Lugansk. Picture: Alex Inoy Source: AFP

6.45am

The president of Ukraine has compared the MH17 disaster to some of the worst terrorist atrocities in human history.

"I don't see any differences from the tragedy (of) 9/11, from the tragedy of Lockerbie, and the tragedy of Grabove, on Ukrainian side," Petro Poroshenko told CNN.

He insisted that the armed men in eastern Ukraine should not be referred to as "separatists". "There are no separatists there. They are terrorists," he said.

Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko. Source: AP

6.40am

Foreign Affairs Minister Julie Bishop addresses the United Nations Security Council. Picture: AP Photo/Seth Wenig Source: AP

With the backing of Russia, the UN Security Council has unanimously supported Australia for a full, independent international investigation of the Malaysia Airlines plane disaster.

Australia took the lead in drafting the strongly worded resolution, which was adopted after some changes were made to satisfy Moscow.

"We must have answers. We must have justice," Australian Foreign Minister Julie Bishop told the 15-member council.

"It is despicable that this access is not being provided

"It is an affront to the victims and their families ... everyone must co-operate with the investigation. We will not rest until this is done. We will not rest until we bring them home."

The resolution demands that all military activities, including by armed groups, be "immediately ceased in the immediate area surrounding the crash site to allow for security and safety of the international investigation".

Moscow sought to change the term "shooting down" of the plane for "downing", arguing that it amounted to prejudging the outcome of the investigation.

Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe deputy chief monitor Alexander Hug visits a train containing the bodies of victims of the Malaysia Airlines flight MH17 in Torez, Ukraine. Picture: Brendan Hoffman/Getty Image Source: Getty Images

6.15am

The journey home for those who perished in Malaysia Airlines flight MH17 has finally begun.

The remains of about 282 bodies recovered from the crash site are finally on their way to the Netherlands after a train left Torez overnight.

The bodies will be handed over to Dutch pathologists who will inspect the remains before they are returned home.

Dunia Asik