As a probe into the enormity of the Malaysia Airlines flight MH17 crash, in which nearly 300 passengers were blown out of sky, is underway, it's too early to direct all the rage toward eastern Ukraine's rebel armed forces.

Ukraine accused Russian-backed militants of shooting down the passenger jet. And the Kiev authorities and eastern militants are passing the blame to each other.

We cannot rule out any possibility until the black box, which includes cockpit voice and data recordings, is found, which might establish for certain whether the plane was shot down and who fired the deadly missile.

It's unknown if the truth could be unveiled immediately.

There is also the question of what will come next politically. The West so far has attributed the tragedy to Russia due to its support for eastern Ukrainian militants, who are seen as perpetrators of Thursday's missile attack. This has put Moscow in the middle of mounting international pressure, a passive diplomatic situation, and the risk of harsher economic sanctions and complete isolation.

The MH17 disaster will inevitably change the regional situation. The madness of the three-month-long military conflict in eastern Ukraine has not yet been effectively controlled because of the large divergences among the parties concerned.

Russia has been supporting peace negotiations to resolve the Ukrainian crisis and a revamp on the tactics of the anti-terrorist operation in the country's east.

Moscow prior to the MH17 incident had been communicating with EU member countries, such as Germany and France, to settle the Ukrainian crisis through peace negotiations. It has proposed that the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe get involved, but this proposal has been encountering difficulties.

For the EU, a 28-member community plagued with low efficiency and internal divisions, the jet crash may help foster a united stand within the organization.

The EU may impose more pressure on Kiev to bring a definitive end on the fighting in eastern Ukraine.

The US from the very beginning of the MH17 crash has seized the chance to redouble international pressure on Russia. Samantha Power, the US ambassador to the UN, could not have been clearer in apportioning blame in her speech at the UN Security Council on Friday, "Russia can end this war, Russia must end this war." Tensions between the US and Russia are bound to become more acute in the short term.

The investigation will perhaps turn into a tug of war in the near future.

The results of the confusing maelstrom will largely depend on what can be ascertained by the investigation.

But one certain thing is that the full-blown civil war in Ukraine must be stopped as soon as possible.

Putin on Friday called for all sides in the conflict to halt fighting and begin peaceful talks. Impending regional armed conflicts, if not reined in, could only lead to greater damage to not only the region, but also the world.

The article was compiled by Global Times reporter Yu Jincui based on an interview with Zhang Hong, an associate research fellow at the Institute of Russian, Eastern European & Central Asian Studies of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences. yujincui@globaltimes.com.cn