Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak said today that a team of 68 Malaysian police officers have arrived in the Ukranian capital Kiev, ready for deployment to help an international team working to secure the MH17 crash site.

The team will work with Dutch and Australian forces in the conflict zone where the Ukrainian army is fighting with pro-Russian separatist forces.

Najib did not, however, say if the police officers would be armed but he urged both warring parties to ceasefire.

"Earlier, (Dutch) Prime Minister (Mark) Rutte and I spoke about the continued military activity at the crash site; the inability of international investigators to deploy across it; and the human remains that may still lie there.

"For the sake of the grieving families, it is imperative that all remains at the crash site are repatriated as soon as possible. Every single victim must be given dignity and a decent funeral," Najib, who is currently in the Netherlands, said in a press statement today.

The Netherlands will lead the team and besides the police force in Donetsk, Malaysia would also lend support to the task of identifying the dead in Netherlands.

On July 17, a Malaysian Airlines Boeing 777 jet carrying 298 passengers was shot down and crashed into eastern Ukraine. Since then, securing what has been dubbed the world's biggest crime scene has been difficult and Najib conceded that the use of police force was only a first step on a long walk to justice.

"The conflict in eastern Ukraine may not be easily resolved. But the people on board that plane had no part in it. We ask that there be an immediate cessation of hostilities in and around the crash site – by both Ukrainian and separatist forces.

"We ask that all sides respect the lives lost, and the integrity of the site, so that the investigation may proceed. The long walk towards justice begins with this step," he said.

Yesterday, Bernama reported that Home Minister Ahmad Zahid Hamidi and Inspector-General of Police Khalid Abu Bakar were among the 68 police officers sent to Kiev. Zahid said there was no fixed period for the operation.

Although some 200 bodies or remains of MH17 passengers have been transported to Netherlands last week, it is estimated that the remains of at least 80 victims are still at the crash site.