Nieuwegein: International investigators said Wednesday they were issuing arrest warrants for three Russians and one Ukrainian suspect over the downing of flight MH17 in July 2014. The Dutch-led probe said it was going to prosecute Russian nationals Igor Girkin, Sergey Dubinskiy and Oleg Pulatov as well as Ukrainian Leonid Kharchenko over the downing of the Malaysia Airlines plane.

"Today we will send out international arrest warrants for the first suspects that we will prosecute. They will also be placed on national and international wanted lists," Wilbert Paulissen, chief constable of the Netherlands National Police, told a press conference. Dutch prosecutor Fred Westerbeke said they were the "four who will be held accountable for bringing the deadly weapon, the BUK Telar, into eastern Ukraine".