Good morning. We'll start the live blog today with a few tweets from Der Spiegel's Mathieu von Rohr looking at some of the latest British and French press reaction to MH17:
The Daily Telegraph front page: "Russian gangsters killed our loved ones, say British families" #MH17 pic.twitter.com/YZ7HExiA53
— Mathieu von Rohr (@mathieuvonrohr) July 19, 2014
"Putin's victims". Daily Mirror front page. #MH17 pic.twitter.com/n1tAZ66slm
— Mathieu von Rohr (@mathieuvonrohr) July 19, 2014
Libération front page shows Putin and the headline "Accused" #MH17 pic.twitter.com/TxKWfmluZS
— Mathieu von Rohr (@mathieuvonrohr) July 19, 2014
We are now closing our live blog for today. Don't forget that you can keep abreast of all our Ukraine coverage here.
OSCE on #MH17 crash site: bodies lying everywhere decomposed, some burnt, others mangled together. Nobody removing them for cold storage.
— max seddon (@maxseddon) July 18, 2014
OSCE have no idea who is controlling #MH17 crash site. Appears to be several small rebel groups with no leader. Fate of black boxes unknown.
— max seddon (@maxseddon) July 18, 2014
OSCE unable to access all but a small area of #MH17 crash site due to aggressive armed rebel guards. "Some looked slightly intoxicated."
— max seddon (@maxseddon) July 18, 2014
the war in Ukraine is a real war: the crash of #MH17 makes it impossible to keep pretending otherwise http://t.co/R42Z1vnHNE
— Anne Applebaum (@anneapplebaum) July 18, 2014
In India, mourn the dead. Inscription "Shame humanity." # Boeing -777 pic.twitter.com/ymWKHeH3ZJ
- Ukraine News (@ Dbnmjr) July 18, 2014
RFE/RL's news desk has issued this item on what could be a very interesting development in the separatist ranks:
Denis Pushilin, one of the more visible figures in the pro-Russian separatist movement in eastern Ukraine, has resigned, reports say.
Pushilin was the self-styled Chairman of the Supreme Council of the self-declared Donetsk People's Republic.
Pushilin's deputy, Vladimir Makovich, said on July 18 that Pushilin had sent a letter addressed to him in which he announced he was stepping down from his post.
"Denis is now in Moscow," Makovich said.
The reasons for Pushilin's resignation were not clear.
It came just after he was quoted as saying that his group is willing grant the international community access to the wreckage of Malaysia Airlines Flight MH17, which crashed in the area on July 17.
Earlier in July, Pushilin had criticized Russia for not coming to the separatists' aid when Kyiv stepped up its military operation against the separatists.
(Interfax, ITAR-TASS, washingtonpost.com)
RFE/RL's information unit has produced this interactive map, showing a number of recent incidents involving aircraft over Ukraine's volatile eastern region:
Russia-#Ukraine blame game only fueled by passenger jet crash my take for @dpa_intl http://t.co/VaxBKHLbWp
— Nikolaus von Twickel (@niktwick) July 18, 2014
Seeing evidence already of Russian businesses putting new projects on hold after last night's tragedy. A line has been crossed
— William Rice (@William_Rice2) July 18, 2014
Our news desk has more info on reports that the OSCE monitoring team are being denied access to parts of the MH17 crash site:
Pro-Russian separatists have prevented monitors from the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) from fully inspecting the site where a Malaysia Airlines jet crashed.
The Swiss ambassador to the OSCE, whose country holds the organization's current chairmanship, said in Vienna today that the monitors "did not have the freedom of movement they need."
Thomas Greminger said the observers would try again to gain access tomorrow.
The dpa news agency quotes a source close to the OSCE as saying shots were fired in the vicinity but not at a group of 17 monitors.
The OSCE said earlier that about 30 observers and experts arrived by helicopter at the crash site on July 18 after separatists announced they would allow international investigators into the area, which they control.
(dpa, Reuters)