A Malaysian team including two air accident investigators arrived in Kiev on Saturday and the transport minister was expected to follow as the Malaysian prime minister appealed for access to the MH17 crash site.

A Malaysian team including two air accident investigators arrived in Kiev on Saturday and the transport minister was expected to follow as the Malaysian prime minister appealed for access to the MH17 crash site.

Prime Minister Najib Razak said he spoke to Russian President Vladimir Putin by phone late Friday to stress the need for an objective, unfettered probe into the crash that killed 298 people, amid concerns the site was vulnerable to tampering.

"I also told Putin that the site should not be tampered (with) before the team begins its investigation," he was quoted saying by national news agency Bernama.