Originally Posted by
adamak
If the rebels are not letting investigators / police get to the debris field now, which country will have the authority to force their way in? US? Russia? Malaysia? At some point, they'll have to collect the bodies, debris for investigation, right?
I don't think anyone has the authority. This is Ukrainian territory though and they are making noise that they want it investigated internationally. So as the law goes the invitation will be there, and no forcing necessary.
The problem of men on the ground with guns then is not so much a legal issue about authority, it's a case of the reality of not being able to get close because someone is shooting at you. To send tanks and APCs into this region is getting involved in a shooting war with Russian proxies and that is a high ante. NATO tanks and APCs are just over the border in Poland. I don't think there is any will to bring them in even with an invitation as cover for investigations, and nobody is going to fight a battle over this scene.
Any battle will be an excuse for the currently occupying forces to destroy it and claim it was enemy action.