 |
| Here on the gentle rolling hills of eastern Ukraine, beside an abandoned Soviet-era poultry farm, lay the innocent people whose lives were extinguished so suddenly in an explosion at 33,000 feet. Several human victims were still stuck in their seats as they fell to the ground, while others were mangled and hideously manipulated. As Ukrainian officials began to pile up the corpses, they found many personal items including family photos (top right) books and teddy bears. Most of the bodies have been placed in black bags (left), but some have been left open with their faces exposed. Amid the chaos of the crash site, locals have been able to wander around freely (main). But witnesses have alleged that officials have been stealing possessions from the dead while others have used mobile phones to take pictures of the wreckage (bottom right). |
Global leaders rounded on Vladimir Putin on Saturday night as armed separatists continued to block international inspectors attempting to identify and repatriate bodies at the Malaysia Airlines MH17 crash site in eastern Ukraine.
Amid reports that pro-Russia rebels accused of shooting down the plane had removed corpses themselves and were looting credit cards and other possessions belonging to some of the 298 victims, Mark Rutte, the Dutch prime minister,...vented his anger following what he called a "very intense" conversation with the Russian president. Referring to allegations that bodies of the passengers, including 193 Dutch nationals, were being treated with contempt and allowed to rot at the scene, he said: "I was shocked at the pictures of utterly disrespectful behaviour at this tragic spot. It's revolting."
David Cameron called for the EU and the west to change its approach to Russia if Putin does not alter course on Ukraine following the tragedy. The prime minister said: "This is a direct result of Russia destabilising a sovereign state, violating its territorial integrity, backing thuggish militias, and training and arming them. We must turn this moment of outrage into a moment of action."
Speaking about the British government's priorities Philip Hammond, the foreign secretary, said: "Our focus now is on securing the site so there is a proper international investigation to identify the cause and the perpetrators and bring them to justice, and making sure the victims are dealt with with proper dignity and respect."
The US secretary of state, John Kerry, also stressed in a phone call with the Russian foreign minister, Sergei Lavrov, that investigators must get full access to the crash site.
 |
| Crash site: Ukrainian rescue workers [See below] have been allowed into the site to start collecting bodies of the victims Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2698563 |
It was a horrific scene and came despite huge pressure on Moscow to force the rebels to allow proper access to the site. The Ukrainian government accused the separatists of removing 38 bodies from the site to a morgue in rebel-held Donetsk. But as politicians and newspapers across the world lay blame for Thursday's tragedy at the door of pro-Russia separatists and Vladimir Putin personally, the Kremlin has remained defiant. Putin has said Ukraine is to blame, and Russia's defence ministry issued a list of 10 questions for Kiev on Saturday, insinuating that it was a Ukrainian missile that downed the plane, while the self-declared prime minister of the Donetsk People's Republic, Alexander Borodai, told Russian television that the entire event had been a setup by Ukrainian authorities.
 |
| While residents have been able to leave flowers, staff of Europe's OSCE claim they were blocked from the site Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2698563 |
The Ukrainian prime minister, Arseniy Yatsenyuk, told a German newspaper that the missile required "very professional staff" and "could not be operated by drunken gorillas", suggesting that the separatists had outside help from Russia. When asked about the growing circumstantial evidence that the separatists shot down the jet in error, thinking it to be a Ukrainian air force plane, Borodai said: "It's a lie and I hope it will be proved as a lie by experts, including international experts who have already arrived on our territory."
However, there were no recognisable international or even Ukrainian experts at the crash site, which was completely controlled by rebel gunmen. Ukraine's government on Saturday accused the rebels of destroying evidence and making life difficult for OSCE observers. "We have to be very careful with our movements because of all the security. We are unarmed civilians, so we are not in a position to argue with people with heavy arms," said Bociurkiw.
 |
| Bodies are still strapped to seats as reinforcements are called in to help with the identification process Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2698563 |
Fighting has continued between the Ukrainian army and separatists in east Ukraine since the crash on Thursday, with more than 20 civilians reported to have died in Luhansk on Friday. Ukrainian authorities claimed they had evidence of military equipment transferred to the area from Russia in the early hours of Saturday morning.