Ukraine rebels hold MH17 memorial at crash site

Ukrainian rebels on Friday commemorated the victims killed in Malaysia Airlines Flight MH17 crash six years ago in Eastern Ukraine.

At the site of the crash, in the village of Hrabove, people held candles and flags of the countries whose citizens were on board the plane on 17 July 2014.

Nearly 200 of the victims were Dutch; the others came from a variety of countries including Malaysia, Australia, Canada, Britain and Belgium.

In the six years since the plane was shot down, a Dutch crash investigation ruled that a Buk surface-to-air missile brought down the Boeing 777.

Speaking during the ceremony at the site, leader of self-proclaimed Donetsk People's Republic, Denis Pushulin, called the investigation "politically biased".

He accused Ukrainian authorities of shifting the blame for the crash onto rebels and Russia.

An international team of prosecutors investigating the case has charged three Russians and a Ukrainian with involvement in bringing down the plane and the murder of all on board.

Last week, the Dutch government took Russia to the European Court of Human Rights for its alleged role in downing the plane.

Russia has repeatedly denied any involvement in shooting down Flight MH17.