KHARKIV, Ukraine (AP) — Two military aircraft carrying the first bodies of victims of the Malaysia Airlines crash have left the embattled eastern Ukraine today.

They're headed for the Netherlands for positive identification.

The Dutch government has declared today a day of mourning as the country prepares for the arrival of the bodies this afternoon.

All 298 people on Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 were killed when the plane was shot down last Thursday over a rebel-controlled area of eastern Ukraine.

Ukraine and western nations are pressing pro-Russian rebels to allow an unfettered an investigation, something Russian President Vladimir Putin is promising he'll use his influence to achieve.

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