Following a prisoner exchange between Ukraine and Russia, the Netherlands regretted that a former commander of a pro-Russian air defense unit was released and flown out to Moscow.
Vladimir Zemach could play a major role in the international investigation into the launch of the MH17 passenger aircraft, the Dutch Foreign Ministry informed the parliament in The Hague on Saturday night.
"The government had urged the relevant Ukrainian authorities not to involve Mr Zemakh in the exchange of prisoners," the letter says. Under pressure from The Hague, the investigators could have interrogated the man before handing over to Russia. Details of the statement were not communicated.
Gleb Garanich / REUTERS
Russian machine (left) before the prisoner exchange at the Kiev airport Boryspil
The Malaysian Airlines Boeing was shot down over a contested region of eastern Ukraine in 2014 by a Russian Buk missile. All 298 people on board were killed. Most of the victims were Dutch.
Vladimir Zemach is said to have command of air defense at that time and to have been involved in the transport of the Buk gun. A Ukrainian Special Forces kidnapped Tsemakh in Donbass in June and took him to Kiev, where he was imprisoned.