Remains of MH17 victims return home from Ukraine

(Vatican Radio) The remains of 20 Malaysians killed when Malaysia Airlines Flight MH17 was shot down over Ukraine in July arrived home on Friday, the first day of national mourning in the Asian nation's history. It was the first repatriation of victims from the flight to Malaysia. 

The remains, carried aboard a specially chartered Malaysian Airlines plane, were received in a solemn ceremony on the tarmac of Kuala Lumpur International Airport. 

Listen to the report by Stefan Bos:

At least 43 Malaysians died when the plane was blown out of the sky over eastern Ukraine, allegedly by pro-Russian rebels. The Netherlands, which lost at least 195 nationals in the incident, has been in charge of identification of the remains.

Coffins were draped with the Malaysian flag and were carried by teams of eight soldiers to waiting hearses, before being taken to private funerals.

Nearby, pilots and flight attendants stood holding white flowers.

GOVERNMENT OFFICIALS 

The king, prime minister and relatives were among those attending the ceremony. The nation is still coming to terms with the disappearance of another Malaysian Airlines flight and its 239 passengers and crew earlier this year.

The government urged people Friday to wear black, to observe a minute of silence and to pray to honor the victims.

CONFLICT ONGOING IN UKRAINE

Back in Ukraine, there was the sound of war. But a Russian aid convoy was expected to start moving to the eastern city of Luhansk, explained Laurent Corbaz, the International Committee of the Red Cross' (ICRC) director of operations in Europe. 

"The checking of the trucks has started. And hopefully...we are confident, that the convoy could start its operation soon," he told reporters.  His team has been checking whether weapons were being transported with the water, baby food and other humanitarian aid. 

The ICRC later announced it would not escort the convoy "due to the volatile security situation." Kiev said it still regarded the convoy as "a Russian invasion" but pledged not to attack it.    

CHALLENGES AHEAD

The convoy of roughly 270 trucks is expected to face difficulties, as heavy fighting continues between government forces and separatists in and around Luhansk and Donetsk, where residential areas have been attacked.    

"Because of the explosion, I could not hear anything," an elderly injured man says, standing near a heavily damaged residential building. "Luckily, I have no bars in front of my windows. That's why I was able to climb out," he said. 

Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko is to meet Germany's Chancellor Angela Merkel this weekend to discuss the crisis, ahead of talks with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin in Minsk, Belarus. 

He also faces political turmoil: Ukraine's president wants to dissolve Parliament in order to oust supporters of previous pro-Russian president Viktor Yanukovych, while Economy Minister Pavlo Sheremeta resigned to protest a perceived lack of economic reforms.