CRI听力:MH17 Downing Anniversary to be Marked

Preparations are underway at the site where a Malaysia Airlines Boeing 777 was downed over war-ravaged eastern Ukraine for the anniversary of the tragedy.

Local villagers and community leaders have attended the newly built monument for the 298 people who died in the crash.

Vladimir Berezhnoy is head of the community.

"This memorial is set in the memory of victims of the plane crash on 17th of July 2014. It was built on volunteers' money, sponsors from Donetsk region. Tomorrow will be the opening of the memorial and requiem for the victims of this crash."

Flight MH17 was downed while en route from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur. 196 of the victims were Dutch nationals.

The Netherlands is leading the investigation into the disaster and is being assisted by Belgium, Australia and Ukraine.

A preliminary report published last September indicated that the plane was hit by a missile.

A final report is scheduled to be released in October.

Earlier this week, cnn cited sources who had seen the draft report saying that evidence points to Ukrainian rebels as being responsible for shooting down the plane with a Russian-made Buk missile.

This is against a previous conclusion from Russia, which cited a source from the Ukrainian military saying the missile was shot by the government forces.

Ukraine, the rebels, and Russia have all denied involvement in the downing of the civilian flight.

Ahead of the anniversary, the countries involved in the investigation have called for setting up a special United Nations tribunal for the prosecution of those responsible for the crash of flight MH17.

Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte discussed the issue on Thursday with Russian President Vladimir Putin, who rejected the proposal as "premature and counter-productive."

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov has also stressed that only after the investigation is completed can "the matter of responsibility of culprits" be discussed.

"Our position is based on the belief that it is unnecessary to put the cart before the horse. That's the one thing - the investigation is not yet completed."

Lavrov added that the idea of a UN tribunal was aimed at serving the needs of the United States.

He was responding to recent remarks by U.S. Ambassador to Russia John Tefft who said the U.S. knows who shot down the Malaysian Flight.