Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko is accusing Russia of invasion after deploying its troops in eastern Ukraine.
Petro Poroshenko’s remarks came as pro-Russian rebels opened a new front in the south by seizing the coastal town of Novoazovsk.
NATO says it has detected a significant increase of Russian arms being supplied to the rebels over the past two weeks.
Russia has denied that its forces have crossed Ukraine’s border. At least 2,119 people have been killed in four months of fighting.
The UN Security Council is to hold an emergency meeting in New York on August 28 at 18:00 GMT to discuss the crisis.
NATO Brigadier General Niko Tak said there had been a “significant escalation in the level and sophistication of Russia’s military interference in Ukraine” over the past two weeks.
“[NATO has] detected large quantities of advanced weapons, including air defense systems, artillery, tanks, and armored personnel carriers being transferred to separatist forces in eastern Ukraine,” he said.
President Petro Poroshenko is accusing Russia of invasion after deploying its troops in eastern Ukraine
“Russia is reinforcing and resupplying separatist forces in a blatant attempt to change the momentum of the fighting, which is currently favoring the Ukrainian military.”
More than 1,000 Russian troops are operating inside Ukraine, both supporting the separatists and fighting on their side, according to NATO.
However, Russia’s ambassador to the EU, Vladimir Chizhov, said NATO had “never produced a single piece of evidence” for its accusations. He said the only Russian soldiers on Ukrainian soil were 10 paratroopers captured earlier this week.
On August 28, Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko called an emergency meeting with his security council to discuss “the sharp aggravation of the situation in Donetsk region… as Russian troops were actually brought into Ukraine”.
“The situation is extremely difficult, but it is manageable enough for us not to panic and continue calculating our actions,” he told security chiefs.
Meanwhile Prime Minister Arseny Yatsenyuk said Russia had “unleashed a war in Europe”, adding that the world should take “effective steps”.
Government forces had made significant advances against the separatists in recent weeks, but these gains seem in doubt with rebels now operating in two distinct areas of Donetsk region.
Separatist leader Alexander Zakharchenko told Russian TV that between 3,000 and 4,000 Russian citizens were fighting in their ranks.
He said many of the Russians were former service-people or current service personnel on leave, insisting that all were volunteers.
Ukraine’s security and defense council confirmed reports that Novoazovsk had been captured by the rebels, whom they described as “Russian troops”.
It said it had withdrawn its forces to save lives, and that Ukrainian soldiers were now reinforcing the defenses of the strategic port city of Mariupol.
The port has until now been peaceful and cut off from rebel positions.
Pro-Russian fighters have been trying for weeks to break out of an area further north in the Donetsk region where they are almost encircled.
Analysts say the separatists could also be seeking a land link between Russia and Crimea, which would give them control over the entire Sea of Azov.
Russia annexed the Black Sea peninsula of Crimea from Ukraine in March.
Between 3,000 and 4,000 Russian citizens are fighting in eastern Ukraine, a pro-Russian rebel leader in the area has said.
Alexander Zakharchenko, who is prime minister of the self-declared Donetsk People’s Republic, told Russian TV many of the Russians were former servicepeople or current personnel on leave.
He was speaking as rebels threatened to take the key port of Mariupol, after opening a new front in the south-east.
Reports say they have captured the town of Novoazovsk and are advancing on the port.
Ukraine says Russian forces have crossed the border and are supporting the rebel attack, but Moscow has repeatedly denied arming or covertly supporting the rebels.
There are suspicions that Russia wants to divert Ukrainian forces from the besieged cities of Donetsk and Luhansk, further north.
Government forces have made significant advances against the separatists in recent weeks.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel has demanded an explanation from Russia’s President Vladimir Putin amid the reports of an incursion.
French President Francois Hollande also said it would be “intolerable” if Russian troops were in Ukraine.
Alexander Zakharchenko said Russian citizens were coming to Ukraine to fight because they felt it was their duty.
Between 3,000 and 4,000 Russian citizens are fighting in eastern Ukraine
“There have been around 3,000-4,000 of them in our ranks,” he said, adding that the rebels’ struggle would have been much harder without them.
He insisted that any Russians fighting on the rebel side were doing so voluntarily.
“Many former high-ranking military officers have volunteered to join us. They are fighting with us, considering that to be their duty,” he said.
“There are also many in the current Russian military that prefer to spend their leave among us, brothers who are fighting for their freedom, rather than on a beach.”
Reports from journalists and military on the ground say that Novoazovsk has been captured by the rebels.
A Ukrainian company commander, Vladimir Shilov, told Ukrainian TV that he had heard from sources inside the town that it was blocked by tanks and no-one was allowed to leave. Local officials had already fled to Mariupol, he added.
A spokesman for the rebels told Interfax news agency that Novoazovsk was under their control and they would soon “liberate” Mariupol.
Reports on Twitter suggested the rebels were already advancing towards Mariupol, and rebels said they had captured checkpoints to the west of the city.
The port has until now been peaceful and cut off from rebel positions.
Rebels have been trying for weeks to break out of an area further north in the Donetsk region where they are almost encircled.
Analysts say the separatists could also be seeking a land link between Russia and Crimea, which also would give them control over the entire Sea of Azov.
Russia annexed the Black Sea peninsula of Crimea from Ukraine in March.
In a phone call with Vladimir, Angela Merkel said reports of a Russian military incursion into Ukrainian territory had to be cleared up, her spokesman said.
The US also expressed its “deep concern” at the latest developments.
“These incursions indicate a Russian-directed counter-offensive is likely under way in Donetsk and Lugansk [Luhansk],” state department spokeswoman Jen Psaki told reporters on Wednesday.
“An increasing number of Russian troops are intervening directly in fighting on Ukrainian territory,” the US ambassador to Ukraine, Geoffrey Pyatt, wrote on Twitter.
Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko promised a roadmap for peace in the east on Tuesday after holding his first direct talks on the crisis since June with Vladimir Putin.
Vladimir Putin said Russia would assist any ceasefire talks, but that stopping the fighting was a matter for Ukraine alone.
Ukraine’s President Petro Poroshenko says a “roadmap” will be prepared to end fighting between troops and pro-Russian separatists in the east after meeting Russian President Vladimir Putin in Belarus.
Vladimir Putin said Russia would assist a dialogue, but stopping the fighting was a matter for Ukraine itself.
Ukraine and the West accuse Russia of arming the rebels, a claim repeatedly denied by the Kremlin.
“A roadmap will be prepared in order to achieve, as soon as possible, a ceasefire regime which absolutely must be bilateral in character,” Petro Poroshenko said after two hours of direct talks with Vladimir Putin in Minsk.
Earlier this year, Petro Poroshenko declared a unilateral ceasefire but accused the rebels of not following suit.
Prior to their one-to-one meeting, Petro Poroshenko and Vladimir Putin also took part in discussions with the EU’s top diplomat Catherine Ashton.
The summit came after 10 Russian soldiers were seized in Ukraine’s east.
Petro Poroshenko met Vladimir Putin for direct talks in Belarus
More than 2,000 people have died in fighting between Ukrainian forces and separatists in Donetsk and Luhansk.
The two regions declared independence from Kiev following Russia’s annexation of the southern Crimean peninsula from Ukraine in March.
In a statement on his website after the talks, President Petro Poroshenko added: “Our main goal is peace. We are demanding decisive actions which will bring peace on Ukrainian soil.”
“The logic of a peace plan was after all supported by all the heads of state without exception.”
Meanwhile, President Vladimir Putin said at a news conference: “Russia, for its part, will do everything to support this peace process if it starts.”
However, he stressed that it was up to the government in Kiev and separatist leaders in the east to work out conditions for a truce.
Petro Poroshenko and Vladimir Putin reportedly agreed to hold further consultations between Ukraine’s and Russia’s border guard agencies.
The meeting came as part of a summit taking place under the auspices of the Moscow-led Eurasian Customs Union, which also includes Belarus and Kazakhstan.
Russia has admitted for the first time that ten Russian soldiers captured in eastern Ukraine had crossed the border “by accident”.
Ukraine said ten Russian paratroopers had been captured and has released video interviews of some of the men. One is quoted as saying “this is not our war”.
The incident comes ahead of a key meeting between the Ukrainian and Russian presidents.
Ukraine’s President Petro Poroshenko and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin are at a summit in Minsk in Belarus.
More than 2,000 people have died in months of fighting between Ukrainian forces and separatists in the Donetsk and Luhansk regions.
The two regions declared independence from Kiev following Russia’s annexation of the southern Crimean peninsula from Ukraine in March.
A Russian defense ministry source was quoted by the Russian news agency RIA Novosti as saying: “The soldiers really did participate in a patrol of a section of the Russian-Ukrainian border, crossed it by accident on an unmarked section, and as far as we understand showed no resistance to the armed forces of Ukraine when they were detained.”
The source also said that some 500 Ukrainian servicemen had crossed the border at various times, adding: “We did not give much publicity to that. We just returned all those willing to return to Ukrainian territory at safe places.”
Ukraine’s security service has captured ten Russian paratroopers near the village of Dzerkalne (photo Ukraine Defence Ministry)
Ukraine’s security service said its military had captured the 10 Russian paratroopers near the village of Dzerkalne, about 30 miles south-east of the rebel-held city of Donetsk and about 15 miles from the Russian border.
Ukrainian military spokesman Andriy Lysenko said: “This wasn’t a mistake, but a special mission they were carrying out.”
A Ukrainian television report that carried the interviews with the men said they were from the 331st regiment of the 98th Svirsk airborne division.
It quoted one man, named as Sgt Andrei Generalov, as saying: “Stop sending in our boys. Why? This is not our war. And if we weren’t here, none of this would have happened.”
Another man, named as Ivan Milchakov, says he is based in the Russian town of Kostroma.
“I did not see where we crossed the border. They just told us we were going on a 70km march over three days,” he said.
“Everything is different here, not like they show it on television. We’ve come as cannon fodder.”
Russia has repeatedly denied Ukrainian and Western accusations that it is supporting the rebels.
On Monday, Ukraine said an armored column had crossed the border into south-eastern Ukraine, sparking clashes near Novoazovsk.
The summit in Minsk is also being attended by senior officials from the European Union which, along with the US, has imposed sanctions on Russia for failing to rein in the separatists.
The Russian aid convoy has moved across the Ukrainian border, without permission, after Russia accused Ukraine of obstructing it.
Russia’s foreign ministry said Ukraine had held up the convoy in order to pursue war against rebels in Luhansk, where the aid is destined.
The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) said it was “not part of that convoy in any way”.
Reports suggest the trucks are being escorted by rebel fighters.
“Our humanitarian aid convoy is starting to move towards Luhansk,” the Russian foreign ministry said in a statement.
It warned Ukraine not to take any action against the convoy without specifying the consequences.
Ukraine fears that the aid convoy of at least 260 trucks, which arrived at the border more than a week ago, is part of a broader Russian intervention in eastern Ukraine.
Russia denies accusations that it arms and trains the rebels in the rebellion in Luhansk and the neighboring region of Donetsk, where four months of fighting have left more than 2,000 people dead and has caused more than 330,000 people to flee their homes.
The Russian aid convoy has moved across the Ukrainian border, without permission (photo Reuters)
The rebel-held city of Luhansk has been without running water, power and phone communications for 20 days as government forces hold it under siege.
As many as 70 trucks have entered Ukrainian territory, moving out of the no-man’s land between the Russian and Ukrainian border posts.
Reporters at the scene saw rebel fighters in front of the convoy as it passed over the border, in a rebel-held sector near the Russian town of Kamensk-Shakhtinsky.
It is normally a drive of about two hours from the trucks’ camp to the city of Luhansk.
However, it is unclear if the convoy will be able to use the motorway there because of continuing combat between rebels and government forces.
An ICRC spokesperson in Moscow said it had concluded that it had not “received the necessary security guarantees from the fighting parties to allow us to escort the convoy at this time”.
It cited “heavy shelling overnight” in Luhansk.
“We understand that the convoy is now moving, however the ICRC is not part of that convoy in any way,” the spokesperson added.
The Russian branch of the ICRC said earlier it was ready to take part in the relief operation and was contacting its international colleagues.
“We are warning against any attempts to sabotage this purely humanitarian mission, which was prepared a long time ago, in an atmosphere of full transparency and in co-operation with the Ukrainian side and the ICRC,” the Russian foreign ministry said.
Delays in Ukrainian clearance for the convoy had “become unbearable”, it said.
“All excuses for blocking the delivery of aid to people in the area where this humanitarian catastrophe is happening have been exhausted,” it added.
“The Russian side has decided to act. Our convoy carrying humanitarian aid is beginning to move towards Luhansk.”
There was no immediate comment on news of the convoy’s entry from the Ukrainian authorities.
Ukrainian media did report, however, that the convoy had not received the go-ahead from Ukraine.
In a statement on its website, Luhansk’s official council reported on August 22 that the dire situation in the city remained unchanged with no halt in the bombardment.
More unscheduled checks on McDonald’s restaurants across Russia have been announced by the country’s consumer watchdog as part of a probe into food standards.
The move comes after watchdog Rospotrebnadzor temporarily shut four McDonald’s restaurants in Moscow.
The actions come amid rising tensions and sanctions between Russia and the West over the crisis in the Ukraine.
The regulator denied the checks were politically motivated. McDonald’s said “top quality” food was its priority.
The regulatory agency said: “There are complaints about the quality and safety of the products in fast food restaurant chain McDonald’s.”
McDonald’s is one of the symbols of America.
Russian parliament has also called for checks on other US fast-food brands, including Burger King and KFC.
McDonald’s said its main priority was to serve customers “top quality menu items”, and that it was studying a claim by the food standards watchdog “to define what should be done to re-open the [Moscow] restaurants as soon as possible”.
Russian state news agency Ria Novosti reported that the regulator was preparing to take McDonald’s to court over alleged breaches of health and safety regulations.
Russia’s first ever McDonald’s opened in 1990 in Moscow’s Pushkin Square (photo McDonald’s)
McDonalds decline to comment on that report.
Unscheduled checks will be made in McDonald’s restaurants in the region of Sverdlovsk in west-central Russia, the Volga region of Tatarstan, the central Voronezh region, and the Moscow region.
“There has been a selection of microbiology tests, sanitary and chemical tests, and identification indicators,” the watchdog said.
McDonald’s said it was “open to any checks”.
A company spokeswoman for European operations said it was aware that the regulator was carrying out the checks, which would be likely to continue for a couple of months.
The spokeswoman added that McDonald’s serves millions of customers a day in Russia, and wanted minimal disruption for them.
According to Ria Novosti, checks have been ordered across Russia’s Central Federal District, and that inspections of McDonald’s in all of the country’s regions will take place.
The checks and restaurant closures come amid a background of diplomatic tensions and tit-for-tat sanctions between Russia and the West over the crisis in the Ukraine. The West has accused Russia of supporting pro-Russian militants.
Earlier this month, Russia imposed an embargo on food imports from the EU, US and some other Western countries, in response to sanctions over Ukraine.
On August 20, the regulator temporarily closed four Moscow restaurants as part of an ongoing investigation of McDonald’s.
The first ever McDonald’s in Pushkin Square, which opened in 1990, was one of the outlets that was shut. Restaurants on Manezh Square, Svobodny prospect 35b and Prospect Mira were also closed.
Four McDonald’s outlets in Moscow have been temporarily closed by Russia’s main consumer watchdog as part of an investigation into food standards.
Watchdog Rospotrebnadzor claimed the restaurants had breached “numerous” sanitary laws.
McDonald’s said it was looking at the complaints, adding its “top priority is to provide safe and quality products”.
The closures come amid rising tensions between Russia and the West over the crisis in the Ukraine.
Previously when diplomatic tensions are high, the regulator has controversially banned products including wine from Georgia, cheese from Ukraine and apples from Poland.
Earlier this month, Russia imposed a “full embargo” on food imports from the EU, US and some other Western countries, in response to sanctions over Ukraine.
Wednesday’s action by the regulator is part of an ongoing investigation into McDonald’s food standards in Russia.
In July the watchdog filed a lawsuit in Moscow urging the restaurant chain to withdraw certain products.
McDonald’s said that restaurants on Pushkin Square, Manezh Square and Prospect Mira in Moscow had been temporarily closed, and said it wanted to “re-open the restaurants as soon as possible”.
“We will continue taking care of our employees and will do our best to continue the success of McDonald’s business in Russia,” the company added.
The Kremlin announced it was working with the Red Cross on sending a humanitarian aid convoy to Ukraine and EU Commission chief Jose Manuel Barroso has told President Vladimir Putin not to carry out unilateral military action in the region under any pretext.
NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen has accused Russia of using humanitarian grounds as a pretext for military intervention in eastern Ukraine.
At least 1,500 people have died since Ukraine’s new government sent in troops to put down an insurrection by pro-Russia separatists in the Donetsk and Luhansk regions in mid-April.
The fighting has displaced hundreds of thousands of people, many of whom have fled to Russia.
Russia is accused of using humanitarian grounds as a pretext for military intervention in eastern Ukraine
Ukrainian forces have now encircled Donetsk, a city of one million people before the unrest began, and residents are struggling without power or reliable sources of food.
In a statement after Vladimir Putin’s conversation with Jose Manuel Barroso, the Kremlin said: “It was noted that the Russian side, in cooperation with representatives of the International Committee of the Red Cross, will send to Ukraine a humanitarian convoy.”
It did not say when the aid convoy would leave. The Red Cross acknowledged last week that it had received an offer from the Russian foreign minister about organizing aid convoys to the affected areas in Ukraine.
The Ukrainian government in Kiev and Western powers fear that a Russian humanitarian mission in the east could be used as a pretext to bring Russian military forces across the border.
In a telephone conversation with President Vladimir Putin on Monday, Jose Manuel Barroso “warned against any unilateral military actions in Ukraine, under any pretext, including humanitarian,” an EU commission statement said.
Jose Manuel Barroso made a separate telephone call to Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko to discuss the situation in Luhansk, it added.
Russia has imposed a “full embargo” on food imports from the EU, US and some other Western countries, in response to sanctions over Ukraine.
PM Dmitry Medvedev said it would include fruit, vegetables, meat, fish, milk and dairy imports.
Australia, Canada and Norway are also affected.
Russia is also banning Ukrainian airlines from transit across its territory, he said in televised comments to the government.
Furthermore, the Russian government is considering banning transit flights for EU and US airlines in retaliation for sanctions over Ukraine, he said.
Barring airlines from Siberian airspace would significantly increase costs and flying time for many jets bound for Asian destinations.
EU food exports to Russia last year were worth 11.8 billion euros ($15.8 billion) while US food exports to Russia were worth 972 million euros ($1.3 billion).
Russia has imposed a full embargo on food imports from the EU, US and some other Western countries
Russia was the EU’s second-biggest market for food exports (10% of total), after the US (13%).
The European Commission said the Russian embargo was “clearly politically motivated”. It is considering how to respond.
Western governments accuse the Kremlin of fomenting the unrest in eastern Ukraine by supplying weapons and expertise to the pro-Russian separatists.
Last month the EU and the US tightened sanctions on Russia, with Brussels applying restrictions to key sectors of the economy as well as individuals. The first round of sanctions came after Russia annexed Ukraine’s Crimea region in March.
The crash of Malaysia Airlines Flight MH17 last month, killing 298 people, exacerbated tensions between the West and Russia, as the separatists in eastern Ukraine were widely blamed. It is strongly suspected that a Russian missile system was used to down the jet.
Dmitry Medvedev ordered the agriculture ministry and producer organizations to find ways to boost Russian farm output in order to prevent price rises for consumers.
Western exports of baby food to Russia are not on the sanctions list. Western pet food is not banned either, and Russians are not barred from buying Western food abroad, within customs limits.
The Russian authorities say they are confident the supermarket shelves will not be left empty – they are searching for alternative suppliers in South America, Turkey and China.
It is estimated that in big cities, like Moscow, more than 60% of food in the shops is imported.
Researchers at Capital Economics say “far and away the most vulnerable to the Russian sanctions is Lithuania, where exports of the banned products to Russia are equivalent to 2.5% of GDP”.
The major food exporters to Russia last year were, in order of importance: Belarus ($2.7 billion), Brazil ($2.4 billion), Ukraine ($1.9 billion), Germany ($1.8 billion) and Turkey ($1.68 billion), Reuters news agency reports.
In 2013 the biggest food sector in EU exports to Russia was cheese and curd, followed by pork, then alcoholic drinks, then apples, pears and quinces.
At the end of July Russia banned all fruit and vegetable imports from Poland, which has been among the most vocal critics of Russia’s involvement in Ukraine.
In January Russia also imposed a ban on imports of pigs and pork from the EU. The European Commission says that move was “disproportionate”, closing a market worth 25% of total EU pig and pork exports.
Russian President Vladimir Putin has issued a new decree banning or curbing agricultural imports from countries imposing sanctions on Russia over the crisis in Ukraine.
In the decree, Vladimir Putin ordered the measures, which also apply to food imports, to be introduced for one year.
Government departments were instructed to come up with a list of products subject to the order.
Russia has imposed import bans on other states in the past, but normally on grounds of public health.
Vladimir Putin has issued a new decree banning or curbing agricultural imports from countries imposing sanctions on Russia over the crisis in Ukraine
Wednesday’s decree did not specify which countries would be affected by the new measures but the EU and US recently tightened sanctions on Russia, with Brussels extending them from individuals to sectors of the economy.
Russia buys fruit and vegetables from the EU worth an annual 2 billion euros ($2.7 billion), and food and agricultural products from the US worth about 1 billion euros.
Last week Russia banned most agricultural imports from Poland on grounds of public health in what was seen as a thinly veiled retaliation for Poland’s advocacy of tough action over Ukraine.
Excerpt from Vladimir Putin’s decree:
“With the aim of protecting the national interests of the Russian Federation and in accordance with the Federal Laws of December 30, 2006, No 281-FZ <<On special economic measures>> and of December 28, 2010, No 390-FZ <<On security>>, I decree that: <<State power bodies of the Russian Federation, federal state bodies, local government bodies, legal entities set up in accordance with the legislation of the Russian Federation, and organizations and individuals that come under the jurisdiction of the Russian Federation shall proceed in their actions from the fact that, for one year from the date when this decree comes into force, foreign economic transactions involving the importation into the territory of the Russian Federation of certain types of agricultural produce, raw materials and food of which the country of origin is a state which has taken a decision to impose economic sanctions against Russian legal entities and/or individuals, or joined such a decision, are banned or restricted…>>”
Over 400 Ukrainian troops have crossed into Russia during heavy fighting with pro-Russian separatists at the Gukovo checkpoint in eastern Ukraine.
A Ukrainian security spokesman, Andriy Lysenko, said the 311 soldiers and border guards “had to cross into Russian territory”.
Ukraine is trying to get them back now through diplomatic channels, he said.
Earlier a Russian security official said 438 Ukrainian troops had been given refuge in Russia as “defectors”.
The border area is very tense amid Ukrainian allegations that Russian forces have been helping the separatists with rocket barrages.
Over 400 Ukrainian troops have crossed into Russia during heavy fighting with pro-Russian separatists (photo EPA)
Russia has announced that it will hold an air force exercise this week near the border. A Russian defense ministry spokesman said 100 aircraft would take part in the operation.
The Russian foreign ministry meanwhile accused Ukrainian forces of deploying tactical missiles and launchers near the city of Donetsk
In his statement on the Ukrainian troops at the border Andriy Lysenko, spokesman for Ukraine’s National Security and Defense Council (SNBO), dismissed Russia’s claim that the troops had defected.
He also denied reports that the separatists had captured some Ukrainian National Guard servicemen during the fighting.
Another Ukrainian military spokesman said the group of soldiers had retreated into Russia after running out of ammunition and other supplies during the fighting. He said they belonged to the 72nd motorized brigade.
Recently Kiev has been gaining ground against the rebels and claims to have retaken more than 60 towns in Donetsk and Luhansk.
Civilians are preparing for a siege as government forces close in on the rebel-held cities of Donetsk and Luhansk.
Residents are stockpiling food and supplies and are sleeping in basements, with reports suggesting Luhansk is virtually surrounded and without power.
Western governments and Ukraine accuse Russia of supplying heavy weapons and volunteers to the pro-Russian rebels, who have declared independence from Kiev.
Russia denies supplying such hardware to the rebels, while condemning Kiev’s military offensive in the east.
Dutch and Australian forensic experts have found human remains at the site of the flight MH17 crash in east Ukraine.
They made their discovery on their first full day of searching at the site, an area of some 13.5 sq miles inside the conflict zone.
Local search parties found 227 of the 298 victims earlier and they were flown to the Netherlands for identification.
Fighting still rages, with 10 Ukrainian soldiers killed nearby on Thursday.
Dutch and Australian forensic experts have found human remains at the site of the flight MH17 crash in east Ukraine
The fighting between government troops and pro-Russian separatist rebels had previously prevented the investigators reaching the area.
Malaysia Airlines Boeing 777 airliner came down on July 17 with the loss of all 298 passengers and crew, while flying from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur.
After Ukraine’s military declared a unilateral one-day suspension of operations against the rebels in Donetsk region on Thursday, an exploratory visit was made by the forensic experts, followed by the full deployment on Friday.
It is now unclear whether Ukraine’s army or separatist forces control the site, as fighting continues nearby.
The head of the search mission, Pieter-Jaap Aalbersberg, announced that it had completed its first day of work and had recovered human remains which would be sent to the Netherlands.
He said the mission was moving to a new base in the Donetsk town of Soledar.
The investigators had travelled in 16 vehicles to the crash site, outside the village of Grabove, along with monitors from the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE).
Artillery fire could be heard periodically somewhere in the distance during the work on Friday, AP news agency reports.
Russia has banned the imports of fruit and vegetables from Poland, depriving it of a major export market.
Russia’s food hygiene authorities said the imports had unacceptable levels of pesticide residues and nitrates.
They earn Poland more than 1 billion euros ($1.35 billion) annually.
Russia is Poland’s biggest market for apples.
The move follows EU sanctions against Russia over Ukraine – and Poland has condemned Russian actions there.
Russia has banned the imports of fruit and vegetables from Poland, depriving it of a major export market
Poland and some other former communist bloc countries are among the most vocal critics of Russia in the current crisis, accusing Moscow of supplying the separatist rebels in eastern Ukraine with arms and volunteers.
The cost to Poland of the import ban is likely to be 0.6% of GDP (national output) by the end of the year, Polish Deputy PM Janusz Piechocinski was quoted as saying.
Agriculture accounts for about 3.8% of Poland’s total GDP. Polish growers plan to seek compensation from the EU for the loss of earnings.
Poles have been posting images of apples on social media as a way of protesting against Russia.
On Thursday Russia announced a ban on more imported Ukrainian food: soy products, cornmeal, sunflowers and fruit juice.
Earlier Russia banned Ukrainian dairy produce and canned fish and vegetables. Last year it banned Ukrainian Roshen chocolate, produced by billionaire businessman Petro Poroshenko, who is now Ukraine’s president.
Previously Russia also imposed such boycotts on Georgia and Moldova – former Soviet republics, like Ukraine, whose pro-Western policies have angered the Kremlin.
Russia is an important export market for Georgian and Moldovan wine. Currently Russia is blocking imports of Moldovan fruit. In each case the Russian authorities say they have public health reasons for imposing a ban.
In January – before its March annexation of Crimea – Russia also imposed a ban on imports of pigs and pork from the EU.
The European Commission says that move was “disproportionate”, closing a market worth 25% of total EU pig and pork exports. In 2013 those exports to Russia totaled 1.4 billion euros.
International forensic scientists have reached the crash site of Malaysia Airlines plane in east Ukraine after the government halted military operations.
Australian and Dutch police experts arrived in a convoy of Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) monitors.
Fighting between government and rebel forces had prevented them getting there for nearly a week.
Australia believes that around 80 bodies remain at the crash site.
Explosions were reportedly heard near the site after their arrival.
A journalist for AFP news agency heard several “powerful” blasts and saw a plume of smoke less than 6 miles from the crash site.
Russian aviation experts are also in Ukraine, hoping to visit the site.
The Malaysia Airlines plane crashed on 17 July in eastern Ukraine, with the deaths of all 298 people on board.
The rebels deny that they shot it down with a missile by mistake.
Officials in Russia, which has been accused by the US and others of supplying the rebels with advanced weaponry, suggest that Ukraine’s own armed forces downed the jet – a charge rejected by Kiev.
International forensic scientists have reached the crash site of Malaysia Airlines plane in east Ukraine after the government halted military operations
Russia has come under increased pressure to end its support for the rebels despite having continually denied claims that it is arming and training them.
OSCE monitors on the ground said in a tweet that they had reached the crash site with the Dutch and Australian investigators after using a new access route.
Getting out of their cars, they stopped for a minute’s silence in remembrance of those killed almost two weeks ago to the hour.
The Dutch justice ministry told AFP the Dutch-Australian team was so far only a “reconnaissance” mission but would hopefully pave the way for more experts to visit soon.
The Netherlands lost 193 of its citizens in the crash while Australia lost 27 and Malaysia 43.
Speaking on a visit to Kiev, Australian Foreign Minister Julie Bishop said she had been told that 80 bodies could still be at the crash site.
“We are determined to access the site, so that we can collect the remains with some dignity and return them to the Netherlands where they can be identified,” she said.
“And then the grieving families across the world who lost 298 people can have some closure.”
Malaysian PM Najib Razak said on a visit to the Netherlands that a team of 68 Malaysian police officers had arrived in Kiev to help with the investigation.
Speaking at a news conference, Najib Razak and his Dutch counterpart, Mark Rutte, said they were united in mourning.
Mark Rutte outlined their three shared priorities: to repatriate the rest of the passengers’ remains from Ukraine, to establish the cause of the crash and to bring those responsible to justice.
The crash area appears to be still under the control of rebel fighters, an AP news agency journalist at the scene said.
A Russian delegation led by Oleg Storchevoy, deputy head of Russia’s federal air transport agency Rosaviatsia, arrived in Kiev earlier.
“Russian experts intend to meet the head of the investigative commission… and hand over all the materials that the chairman of the commission had previously asked for,” Rosaviatsia said in a statement.
“Today, the Russian representatives will also try to reach the crash area of the Boeing 777 and together with specialists from the international investigative commission examine the state of parts of the aircraft at the site.”
There was no comment on the Russians’ involvement from Ukrainian and Dutch officials approached by AP.
The press service for Ukraine’s “anti-terrorist operation” said troops would refrain from combat operations in the Donetsk region, except in self-defense, in order to allow investigators to do their work on Thursday.
Russia will face further economic sanctions if it continues to support rebels in Ukraine, G7 leaders say.
In a statement on Wednesday, the G7 group of economic powers said Russia had undermined “Ukraine’s sovereignty, territorial integrity and independence.”
The warning came after the EU added eight more Russians to its sanctions.
Earlier, Russia described new US and EU sanctions as “destructive and short-sighted”, and said they would lead to higher energy prices in Europe.
G7 leaders say Russia will face further economic sanctions if it continues to support rebels in Ukraine
The G7 group includes the US, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan and Britain.
Its leaders said Russia could still “choose the path of de-escalation,” but warned President Vladimir Putin that he would face greater economic costs if he continued to back Ukrainian separatists.
They also called on all sides to establish a ceasefire at the crash site of the Malaysian Airlines jet that was shot down on July 17 in eastern Ukraine.
Russia has come under increased pressure to end its support for the rebels, who Western governments believe were behind the downing of MH17, killing all 298 people on board.
Vladimir Putin has also been accused by the US and EU of supplying heavy weapons to the rebels – a charge his government has denied.
On Tuesday, the US announced new economic sanctions against Russia, widening their scope to include three key sectors of the economy – energy, arms and finance.
The EU is also expanding its sanctions, targeting the oil sector, defense equipment and sensitive technologies.
Details of new EU sanctions are due to be published on Thursday.
President Barack Obama has announced new economic sanctions against Russia over Ukrainian crisis, saying they will make Russia’s “weak economy even weaker”.
Barack Obama said the coordinated actions of the US and European Union would “have an even bigger bite” on Russia’s economy.
The new restrictions include banning Americans or people in the US from banking with three Russian banks.
The aim is to increase the cost to Russia of its continued support for pro-Moscow rebels in eastern Ukraine.
Moscow denies charges by the EU and US that it is supplying heavy weapons to the rebels.
Speaking at the White House, Barack Obama said the US was widening its sanctions to target the key sectors of the Russian economy – energy, arms, and finance.
President Barack Obama has announced new economic sanctions against Russia over Ukrainian crisis
“If Russia continues on this current path, the costs on Russia will continue to grow,” the president said.
The US Treasury said the banks being targeting in this round of sanctions were VTB, the Bank of Moscow, and the Russian Agriculture Bank (Rosselkhozbank).
Earlier, the EU also adopted new economic sanctions against Russia, targeting the oil sector, defense equipment and sensitive technologies.
Full details of the new EU sanctions are expected on Wednesday, when the EU is also set to name more Russian officials facing asset freezes and travel bans in Europe.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel, who had been reluctant to step up sanctions because of Germany’s trade links with Russia, said the latest measures were “unavoidable”.
Calls for the EU to act have been fuelled by the downing of flight MH17 over eastern Ukraine. All 298 people on the Malaysia Airlines jet were killed, many of them Dutch citizens.
An international team has again failed to access the crash site, amid heavy fighting between government forces and rebels there.
Western governments believe the pro-Russian separatists shot the plane down on July 17 with a Russian missile, believing it to be a Ukrainian military flight. The rebels and Moscow deny that, instead blaming the Ukrainian military.
Last weekend, the EU subjected a further 15 Russian individuals and 18 entities to asset freezes and visa bans for their alleged involvement in the Ukraine conflict.
The list of 87 targets of EU sanctions now includes the heads of the Federal Security Service (FSB) and foreign intelligence, the president of Chechnya, as well as two Crimean energy companies.
The US government accuses Russia of violating the 1987 arms control treaty by testing a nuclear cruise missile.
Russia tested a ground-launched cruise missile, breaking the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty signed in 1987 during the Cold War, the US said.
A senior US official did not provide further details on the alleged breach, but described it as “very serious”.
The bilateral agreement banned medium-range missiles with ranges between 300 to 3,400 miles.
The US government accuses Russia of violating the 1987 arms control treaty by testing a nuclear cruise missile (photo Fox News)
The US claims come at a time of heightened tensions between the two sides, with the US criticizing Russia for its alleged involvement in the conflict in Ukraine.
A senior US official, who was not named, said in a statement that the testing of the missile was “a very serious matter which we have attempted to address with Russia for some time now”.
“We encourage Russia to return to compliance with its obligations under the treaty and to eliminate any prohibited items in a verifiable matter,” the official added.
President Barack Obama has written to President Vladimir Putin over the matter, officials say.
This is the first time the US government has made its accusations public, though the issue has simmered for years.
In January, the New York Times reported that US officials believed Russia had began testing ground-launched cruise missiles as early as 2008.
The US State Department had said at the time that the issue was under review.
The 1987 treaty is at the heart of American-Russian arms control efforts, and was signed by then-Presidents Ronald Reagan and Mikhail Gorbachev in the final years of the Cold War.
The downed Malaysia Airlines plane in eastern Ukraine suffered an explosive loss of pressure after it was punctured by shrapnel from a missile, security officials in Ukraine say.
They say the information came from the plane’s flight data recorders, which are being analyzed by British experts.
However, it remains unclear who fired a missile, with pro-Russia rebels and Ukraine blaming each other.
The downed Malaysia Airlines plane in eastern Ukraine suffered an explosive loss of pressure after it was punctured by shrapnel from a missile
Many of the 298 people killed on board flight MH17 were from the Netherlands.
Dutch investigators leading the inquiry into the crash have refused to comment on the Ukrainian claims.
Heavy fighting has prevented an international police force composed of Dutch and Australian officers from reaching the crash site for a second consecutive day.
Ukraine’s army said on Monday it had managed to capture two towns near the wreckage in its bid to win back territory from the hands of the rebels.
The international delegation was stopped in Shakhtarsk, a town some 20 miles away from the area where flight MH17 was brought down.
Russia has made an offer of 3.9 million roubles ($110,000) in a contest seeking a way to crack the identities of users of the Tor network.
The Tor Project hides internet users’ locations and identities by sending data on random paths through machines on its network, adding encryption at each stage.
The Russian interior ministry made the offer, saying the aim was “to ensure the country’s defense and security”.
The contest is only open to Russians and proposals are due by August 13.
Applicants must pay 195,000 roubles to enter the competition, which was posted online on July 11 and later reported by the tech news site Ars Technica.
Earlier this month, Russia’s lower house of parliament passed a law requiring internet companies to store Russian citizens’ personal data inside the country.
Russia has made an offer of $110,000 in a contest seeking a way to crack the identities of users of the Tor network
Russia has the fifth-largest number of Tor users with more than 210,000 people making use of it, according to the Guardian.
Tor was thrust into the spotlight in the wake of controversy resulting from leaks about the National Security Agency (NSA) and other cyberspy agencies.
Edward Snowden, the whistleblower who revealed the internal memos and who now has asylum in Russia, uses a version of Tor software to communicate.
Documents released by Edward Snowden allege that the NSA and the UK’s GCHQ had repeatedly tried to crack anonymity on the Tor network.
Tor was originally set up by the US Naval Research Laboratory and is used be people who want to send information over the internet without being tracked.
It is used by journalists and law enforcement officers, but has also been linked to illegal activity including drug deals and the sale of child abuse images.
In its 2013 financial statements, the Tor Project – a group of developers that maintain tools used to access Tor – confirmed that the US Department of Defense (DoD) remained one its biggest backers.
The DoD sent $830,000 to the group through SRI International, which describes itself as an independent non-profit research centre, last year.
Other parts of the US government contributed a further $1 million.
Russia will appeal a Hague court decision ordering it to pay $50 billion in damages Yukos Oil Co. case, the biggest compensation package ordered to date.
Russia was told to pay the money to former shareholders in the now defunct oil producer Yukos.
The Hague court said Russian officials had manipulated the legal system to bankrupt Yukos, and jail its boss.
The Russian finance ministry said the ruling was “flawed”, “one-sided” and “politically biased.”
The ministry added that the Hague’s arbitration court “had no jurisdiction to consider the questions it was given”.
The claim was filed by a subsidiary for the financial holding company GML, once the biggest shareholder in Yukos Oil Co.
GML Executive Director Tim Osborne said: “The majority shareholders of Yukos Oil were left without compensation for the loss of their investment when Russia illegally expropriated Yukos.”
“It is a major step forward for the majority shareholders, who have been battling for over 10 years for this decision.”
However, in a statement, the Russian ministry said: “Because of substantial shortcomings in the rulings of the arbitration court, the Russian Federation will challenge the rulings of the arbitration court in Dutch courts and expects to obtain a fair result there.”
Mikhail Khodorkovsky built Yukos into Russia’s largest investor-owned oil company after the fall of the Soviet Union
GML’s lawyer Emmanuel Gaillard said: “This is an historic award. It is now judicially established that the Russian Federation’s actions were not a legitimate exercise in tax collection but, rather, were aimed at destroying Yukos and illegally expropriating its assets for the benefit of State instrumentalities Rosneft and Gazprom.”
Dr. Florian Otto from risk advisory company Maplecroft said that Russia will be hoping to win time and reduce publicity.
He said: “For Russia, paying the money is out of the question, as this could be construed as an acknowledgement that the seizing of Yukos’ assets was illegal – a viewpoint the Kremlin will never accept.
“The ruling does not come as a surprise to any of the parties involved, but the coincidental timing with the downing of flight MH17 certainly adds to the pressure Russia is currently exposed to.
“The case serves as a fresh reminder of state interference in business at a time when business confidence is already at a low point.”
Lawyers said that if Russia does not voluntarily accept the ruling, it can be forcibly enforced by shareholders seizing assets abroad.
Konstantin Lukoyanov of global law firm Linklaters said: “If it is accepted, it can be carried out voluntarily, or it will be implemented forcibly.
“In that case the seizure of assets abroad is possible. There have been several similar cases.”
Leonid Nevzlin, former deputy chairman of Yukos told a Moscow radio station: “I think shareholders are ready for the next stage, if Russia refuses to pay them, to search for and seize Russian assets all around the world.”
Yukos was disbanded in 2007 after filing for bankruptcy in 2006.
The company was formerly controlled by Mikhail Khodorkovsky, who was at one point Russia’s richest man.
Responding to the news, Mikhail Khordorkovsky said it was “fantastic” that shareholders were “being given chance to recover assets”.
Mikhail Khodorkovsky built Yukos into Russia’s largest investor-owned oil company after the fall of the Soviet Union.
He was arrested in 2003 and spent ten years in jail after being convicted of fraud and tax evasion but was pardoned last December.
The state-owned Rosneft bought the bulk of Yukos assets though auctions after the company, once the country’s largest oil producer, was declared bankrupt. Rosneft says all the deals were legal.
According to the UN’s human rights chief, Navi Pillay, the downing of the Malaysia Airlines plane in Ukraine may be a “war crime”.
Pro-Russia Ukrainian rebels and the Ukrainian authorities have accused each other of shooting down flight MH17.
A Ukrainian official said on Monday that MH17’s data recorders show it came down due to “massive explosive decompression” caused by a rocket.
Meanwhile, heavy fighting has again prevented an international police force from reaching the crash site.
The Ukrainian military said it was battling separatists for control of several towns near the site in eastern Ukraine.
All 298 people on board the airliner – mostly Dutch – died on July 17.
The downing of the Malaysia Airlines plane in Ukraine may be considered a war crime
International police want to help secure the huge site so that plane wreckage and human remains can be examined by international crash experts.
Most of the bodies have been removed, many of them repatriated to the Netherlands.
“This violation of international law, given the prevailing circumstances, may amount to a war crime,” Navi Pillay, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, said of the downing of MH17.
“Every effort will be made to ensure that anyone committing serious violations of international law including war crimes will be brought to justice, no matter who they are,” she said.
Navi Pillay spoke as the latest UN report on Ukraine suggested at least 1,129 people have been killed and 3,442 wounded in the Ukraine conflict since mid-April.
The conflict has displaced more than 200,000 people, many of whom have fled east to neighboring Russia.
Meanwhile, Ukrainian security spokesman Andriy Lysenko told reporters on Monday that recovered flight data showed the aircraft crashed due to a massive, explosive loss of pressure after being punctured multiple times by shrapnel.
According to Dutch PM Mark Rutte, sending out an international military force to secure the site of the downed Malaysian Airlines jet in eastern Ukraine is “unrealistic”.
The site is currently controlled by pro-Russia rebels who have been accused of shooting down flight MH17.
All 298 people on board – most of them Dutch – died.
In the latest fighting in the area, 13 people were killed as troops try to seize Horlivka from the rebels.
Separately, the US has released images to back its claim of Russian firing into Ukraine.
The images, showing marks on the ground and impact craters, suggest fire from multiple rocket launchers, the US state department says.
Dutch PM Mark Rutte says sending out an international military force to secure the site of the downed Malaysian Airlines jet in eastern Ukraine is unrealistic
The pictures also indicate the separatists are using heavy artillery supplied by Russia, it added.
Russia denies supplying the rebels with heavy weaponry or firing across the frontier with Ukraine.
The rebels have been accused of shooting flight MH17 down by mistake, but Russia blames the Ukrainian military, an allegation Ukraine denies.
The crash site has yet to be properly investigated and some bodies have still not been recovered. An international push is under way to get the site secured.
However, Mark Rutte, speaking to reporters in The Hague, said: “Getting the military upper hand for an international mission in this area is, according to our conclusion, not realistic.”
He said it would be “such a provocation to the separatists that it could destabilize the situation”.
Mark Rutte said all options were being looked at. The Netherlands, Australia and Malaysia had been considering a joint operation.
Dutch experts on Sunday cancelled plans to head to the site after international officials said fighting in the region was still going on.
“We can’t take the risk,” said Alexander Hug, of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE).
There are still plans for Australia and the Netherlands to deploy 49 police officers, following a deal struck by Malaysia with the rebels to allow international police at the site.
“Our objective is to get in, get cracking and to get out,” Australian PM Tony Abbott said.
The eastern regions of Donetsk and Luhansk have been gripped by heavy fighting as government forces try to retake rebel strongholds.
Aside from the fighting in Horlivka, shelling was also reported close to the MH17 crash site, near the town of Grabove, on Sunday.
Rebels have prevented journalists going to the site and Ukrainian government forces are said to be nearby.
A total of 227 coffins containing the remains of the victims have been sent for identification to the Netherlands, which is leading the crash investigation.
The first MH17 victim has been identified, though officials did not reveal any details.
Officials say the exact number of bodies already collected will be determined only after forensic experts have completed their examination.
Russia said on Sunday it had set up its own team of experts to investigate the plane crash, according to RIA Novosti agency.
Russia has warned that new EU sanctions against it over the Ukraine crisis will jeopardize security co-operation against terror.
The Russian foreign ministry said the EU would bear the blame for the move which sees 15 officials and 18 entities subject to asset freezes and visa bans.
The EU and the US accuse Russia of backing Ukraine’s rebels. Moscow denies this.
Meanwhile, the last remains of the victims of the crashed Malaysia Airlines jet flew out of eastern Ukraine for the Netherlands.
The departure of the aircraft from the city of Kharkiv with 38 coffins brings the total number of bodies sent for identification to 227.
Russia has warned that new EU sanctions against it over the Ukraine crisis will jeopardize security co-operation against terror
The Malaysia Airlines Flight MH17 from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur crashed on July 17, killing all 298 people – including 193 Dutch nationals – on board.
Pro-Russian separatist rebels in eastern Ukraine have been accused of downing the plane by a missile.
Russia has frequently denied sending heavy weapons into Ukraine. Moscow has suggested the plane could have been shot down by the Ukrainian military. Ukraine has denied the charge.
The fighting in eastern Ukraine erupted in April and is believed to have claimed more than 1,000 lives.
In a statement, the Russian foreign ministry said the new EU sanctions showed that the 28-member bloc was taking “a complete turn away from joint work with Russia on international and regional security, including the fight against the spread of weapons of mass destruction, terrorism, organized crime and other challenges”.
“We believe these decisions will be greeted enthusiastically by international terrorists.”
In a separate statement, the Russian ministry also accused the US of “an unrelenting campaign of slander against Russia”.
The EU sanctions were agreed after lengthy negotiations in Brussels on Friday.
The senior Russian officials targeted include Federal Security Service head Alexander Bortnikov, foreign intelligence head Mikhail Fradkov and Nikolai Patrushev, the secretary of the Russian security council.
The leader of Russia’s southern Chechnya republic, Ramzan Kadyrov, is also on the list.
The US State Department says it has evidence that Russia has fired artillery across the border targeting Ukrainian military positions.
Russia also intends “to deliver heavier and more powerful multiple rocket launchers” to pro-Russian separatists in Ukraine, the US State Department said.
Russia has frequently denied sending any rocket launchers into Ukraine.
The US comment comes a week after Malaysia Airlines flight MH17 crashed in eastern Ukraine, with the rebels widely accused of shooting it down.
The US State Department says it has evidence that Russia has fired artillery across the border targeting Ukrainian military positions
Multinational efforts to find the cause of the crash are under way, led by the Netherlands which lost 193 of its citizens. All 298 people on board the flight died in the crash.
Dutch PM Mark Rutte has announced 40 unarmed military police are being sent to the crash site as part of efforts to find the last MH17 victims.
He said there would be more people working on the crash site and his government was looking at ways to make it more secure.
The US, which has repeatedly accused Russia of fuelling separatist sentiment in eastern Ukraine, says it believes that rebels shot down flight MH17 with a Russian-provided SA-11 Buk surface-to-air missile, probably by mistake.
Leading rebels in eastern Ukraine have given conflicting accounts of whether they had control of a Buk launcher at the time the plane was downed.
State department spokeswoman Marie Harf told reporters on Thursday the US had evidence derived from “human intelligence information” showing Russia firing artillery into eastern Ukraine.
She said the US would not provide further details so as not to compromise sources and methods of intelligence collection.
Earlier on Thursday, the EU said it was adding 15 people and 18 entities to the list of sanctions against Russia and Ukraine.
It comes as two more planes carrying the remains of some of the passengers and crew of flight MH17 arrived in the Netherlands for forensic identification at a barracks south of the Dutch city of Hilversum.
Two jets carrying bodies from crashed Malaysia Airlines plane have landed in the Netherlands where a day of mourning for the 298 victims has been declared.
Experts there will begin to identify the dead, most of whom were Dutch.
Pro-Russian rebels have been widely accused of shooting down the Malaysia Airlines plane on July 17.
UK government sources say intelligence shows rebels deliberately tampered with evidence, moving bodies and placing parts from other planes in the debris.
As fighting continued in eastern Ukraine on Wednesday, officials in Kiev said that two aircraft, thought to be military jets, had been downed just 20 miles from the MH17 crash site.
The officials had no information on the cause of the crashes, or the fate of the pilots.
Planes carrying bodies from crashed MH17 flight have landed in the Netherlands (photo EPA)
US intelligence officials had earlier released evidence to the media that they said showed the separatists’ involvement in bringing down flight MH17.
Rebels have also been accused of exaggerating the number of bodies transported from the crash site to the town of Kharkiv on Tuesday.
They had claimed 282 bodies had been loaded on to a train, but experts said only 200 could be verified.
The two military planes – one Dutch and the other Australian – carrying the first 40 coffins landed at Eindhoven air base to be met by members of the Dutch royal family, PM Mark Rutte and hundreds of victims’ relatives.
Churches around the Netherlands rang their bells for five minutes before the planes landed.
A fleet of hearses was standing by to convey the bodies to the Korporaal van Oudheusden barracks south of the city of Hilversum for identification.
PM Mark Rutte said that process could take months.
Earlier, the coffins had been slowly loaded on to the planes by a military guard of honor at Kharkiv airport in eastern Ukraine.
Ambassadors, officials and soldiers gathered to see off the planes.
Australian government envoy Angus Houston said the ceremony was intended to give the victims the “respect and dignity they deserve” after a “tragedy of unspeakable proportions”.
In a separate process, the “black box” flight-data recorders from MH17 have arrived in the UK, where they will be examined at the headquarters of the Air Accidents Investigation Branch in Farnborough.
A rebel militiaman told Italian newspaper Corriere della Sera that he had been ordered to the crash site minutes after the MH17 plane had gone down.
He said his commanders had told him: “We’ve just shot down one of the Kiev fascists’ planes.”
The militiaman said: “We thought we were looking for baled-out Ukrainian pilots but instead we found dead civilians.”
Earlier in Washington, officials from the Office of the Director of National Intelligence presented evidence they had gathered on the involvement of the rebels.
“It’s a solid case that it’s an SA-11 [missile] that was fired from eastern Ukraine under conditions the Russians helped create,” said the officials, who requested that their names not be reported.
They said the “most plausible explanation” for the shooting down of the plane was that rebels mistook it for another aircraft.
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