Ukrainians, Aussies mark tragedy

Residents of the Ukrainian village where a Malaysian airliner was shot down with 298 people aboard a year ago joined a procession to the crash site on Friday, while Australia's prime minister remembered the "savagery" of the disaster as he unveiled a plaque in Canberra set in soil taken from where the wreckage fell.

The two ceremonies come amid a sharp dispute over who was responsible for downing Malaysia Airlines Flight MH17, which was heading from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur on July 17 last year.

Ukrainian and Western authorities say the plane was downed by a missile fired either by rebels or Russian troops.