Suspect arrested over attempted assassination of Ukraine’s MH17 chief expert witness

UKRAINIAN police have arrested a man suspected of shooting the country’s chief expert in the investigation of downed Malaysia Airlines flight MH17.

A MAN has been arrested over the attempted assassination of a chief expert witness in the investigation of the downing of Malaysia Airlines flight MH17.

Oleksandr Ruvin, Ukraine’s most senior forensic scientist, was shot in the leg in November last year in an attack that police suspect was linked to his role in the crash probe.

In a statement, the Ukrainian prosecutor’s office said it would hold a briefing later on Monday “regarding the arrest of the killer who attempted to murder the chief expert on the case of the downed Malaysia Airlines Boeing 777”.

A total of 298 passengers and crew — including 28 Australian citizens and residents — were killed when the plane was shot down over a Ukraine conflict zone on July 17, 2014.

A report by the Dutch Safety Board concluded that the Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur Boeing 777 was hit by a Russian-made Buk missile.

The warhead exploded just outside the cockpit on the left side, instantly killing the pilot and two other crew members as the front of the plane sheared off.

Even though the inquiry did not say who pulled the trigger, countries including Australia, Britain, France and the US accuse pro-Russian separatist rebels of the atrocity.

The board said it was for a criminal investigation to determine who was responsible for firing the missile.

That probe continues, with recent Dutch media reports suggesting evidence about the type of missile and where it was fired from will be presented “before the second half of the year”.

Geoffrey Robertson, a former United Nations war crimes judge, has previously said the International Criminal Court is unlikely to be able to prosecute those responsible but that murder or manslaughter prosecutions could be brought by the countries where the victims lived, including Holland and Ukraine.

Scarred. Ukrainian presidential candidate Viktor Yushchenko in November 2004.

Ukraine is plagued by politically-motivated assassinations and violence.

Ukrainian opposition leader Viktor Yushchenko was believed to be poisoned sometime in 2004.

Images of his disfigured face shocked the world.

Oles Buzina, a controversial Ukrainian journalist and writer known for his strong pro-Russian views, was shot dead on the footpath not far from his flat in Kiev on April 16, 2015.

A year earlier Oleh Babayev, the Mayor of Kremenchuk, was shot dead while sitting in his car in front of his house on July 26, 2014.