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    MH17 Ukraine plane crash: 'Key witness' released

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    A Ukrainian court has released a potentially key witness to the downing of Malaysian Airlines Flight MH17 five years ago.

    Volodymyr Tsemakh was seized earlier this year from a separatist-held part of .

    He is reported to have played a key role in the rebels' defences.

    On 17 July 2014, the jet was travelling from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur when it was was hit by a missile over eastern Ukraine. All 298 people on board died.

    The downing of the aircraft came amid intense fighting between Ukrainian troops and Russian-backed rebels in eastern Ukraine. Some 13,000 people have died in the conflict over the last five years.

    A team of international criminal investigators said in 2016 that the missile had been fired from a field controlled by Russian-backed separatists.

    What are the circumstances of Mr Tsemakh's release?

    The suspect was charged with terrorism offences following his reported seizure by Ukrainian special forces from rebel-held territory in June. He is reported to have been in detention in Kiev since 28 June.

    He was released from custody but the court said his movements would continue to be restricted pending his trial in October.

    However, he has not been electronically tagged, and the 's Jonah Fisher in Kiev says nobody is expecting him to show up in court.

    Media captionInvestigators said they had evidence of the route taken by a Russian…

    Continue Reading This Article At BBC News

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