Kharchenko, who has no military background, had led a combat unit as a commander in Eastern Ukraine, according to prosecutors.
A pro-Russian rebel touches the MH17 wreckage at the crash site near the village of Hrabove, eastern Ukraine, in July 2014. Pic/AP
Unconfirmed Dutch reports have said there are 13 witnesses in the case whose identities will remain secret, but the judges may decide that anyone who has already given evidence to prosecutors may not need to appear in person. The aircraft, which was travelLing between Amsterdam and Kuala Lumpur, was shot down on July 17, 2014 by a Russian-made surface-to-air missile fired from an area in eastern Ukraine controlled by pro-Russia militias, according to the official investigation. Russia has vehemently denied the inquiry commission's two main arguments: that the missile was launched from an area controlled by pro-Russian separatists and that it had been transported from Russia, where it may have been sent back to after the catastrophe.
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