Russian separatist fighter seen stealing ring from MH17 crash victim in a video

The picture shows three rebels wearing military uniforms appear to be rifling through the wreckage.

A blonde-haired fighter, is bent over what looks like wreckage and is holding a gold ring.

It is suggested that the ring may have been found from victim’s belongings or even taken from a body.

The image, was first tweeted by ‘stabilizec’, and was later shared thousands of times on Twitter.

There was a furious backlash online with many users voicing their distaste at the picture despite any confirmation of what it showed.

Sean Callaghan from Cheshire called it ‘an appalling act of inhumanity’.

Others, however, said rebels may have been looking for an inscription to identify a body.

The image came as a video given to the BBC showed other pro-Russia fighters emptying out the luggage of victims of the tragedy.

Militiamen tramped over the remains of the aircraft searching for its ‘black box’ flight recorders and other clues minutes after it was shot down.

Ukrainian officials accused pro-Russian separatists of taking bodies from the scene of the crash before emergency services personnel began officially collecting them on Saturday.