Update – July 22, 7:57 a.m. ET
The train transporting many of the bodies of the victims of the Malaysia Airlines Flight MH17 crash has arrived in the Ukrainian city of Kharkiv, away from territory held by pro-Russian rebels.
More than half of the victims of the disaster were Dutch, and their remains are set to be transported to the Netherlands for identification, bringing them one step closer to their grieving families.
#MH17 train carrying the bodies of all but 18 of the 298 victims,is now in #Kharkiv.Soon to be transported to Holland
The bodies had been in a refrigerated train in an abandoned station in Torez since Sunday.
Ahead of the 17-hour journey, Ukrainian workers had to clear mud and weeds from the line to allow the train to pass along a long-disused stretch of track, according to the New York Times.
Pro-Russian rebels had been coming under increasing international pressure for their handling of the disaster.
Yesterday, the self proclaimed prime minister of the Donetsk People's Republic, Alexander Borodai, handed MH17's black box recorders to Malaysia.
Malaysian "would like to convey our sincere appreciation to His Excellency Mr. Borodai for obeying our request."
The rebels have been accused of failing to secure and interfering with the crash site before an official investigation could take place.
Much of #MH17 site maybe already contaminated after locals, rebels, press walked with unhindered access for days. http://t.co/fJgcqvCrmT
Reports from the scene suggest major pieces of wreckage look different from when investigators from the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe first arrived.
#MH17 Major pieces of wreckage look different 2 when we first arrived says #OSCE
Parts of #MH17 wreckage changed since @OSCE officials last saw it. Large pieces have been cut into - @mikeybbq spox tells @BBCWorld