US Says Putin 'Culpable' In MH17 Plane Crash

The White House has said Russian President Vladimir Putin was "culpable" in the downing of Malaysia Airlines flight MH17 over Ukraine.

In his strongest comments yet since the plane was shot down - killing all 298 people aboard, White House spokesman Josh Earnest linked the crash to Russia, which the US has criticised for providing arms to Ukrainian separatists.

Mr Earnest told reporters: "What we also know is that the Malaysia Airlines jet was brought down by a missile that was fired from the ground.

"It was fired from the ground in an area that was controlled by separatists, and in an area where the Ukrainians themselves were not actually operating anti-aircraft weapons at that time.

"So that is why we have concluded that Vladimir Putin and the Russians are culpable to this tragedy."

Mr Earnest also confirmed reports that Russian troops are firing heavy artillery on Ukrainian military across the border, describing it as an escalation of the conflict.

The US has previously accused Russia of providing arms to Ukrainian pro-Russian separatists.

Russia, however, has called the latest US accusations of Moscow's involvement in the Ukrainian conflict a baseless "smear campaign".

The US has accused Russia of arming Ukrainian separatists

Meanwhile, European Union ambassadors have reached a preliminary deal on stepped-up sanctions against Russia, targeting its defence and technology sectors and its access to European capital.

EU spokeswoman Maja Kocijancic said EU member states must decide whether the measures need to be approved by a summit meeting of the trade bloc's 28 member countries to go into effect.

The ambassadors also ordered asset freezes and travel bans against more Russians and pro-Russian Ukrainians accused of undermining Ukraine.

Alexander Bortnikov, head of the FSB, and Mikhail Fradkov, head of the foreign intelligence service, were among 15 Russians and Ukrainians, and 18 companies and other organisations named in the latest sanctions list published in the EU's Official Journal.

Russia increased its economic pressure on Ukraine when its agency in charge of agricultural products announced that it is banning imports of Ukrainian dairy.

Russia is the biggest export market for Ukrainian milk and cheese.

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Gaza: 12-Hour 'Humanitarian Truce' Begins

A 12-hour ceasefire has begun in Gaza after Israel and Hamas agreed a temporary truce on humanitarian grounds.

Parts of Gaza came under heavy bombardment, with explosions and black smoke rising above Gaza City, minutes before the break in hostilities.

Israeli tank shelling killed 18 members of the same Palestinian family in the southern Gaza Strip, said Gaza health ministry spokesman Ashraf Al Qidra.

The Al Najar family had been trapped inside their house in Khuzaa village, east of Khan Younis, since Thursday when the shells hit, he said.

John Kerry speaks with Qatar's Foreign Minister about the truce

Israel has warned it will keep targeting tunnels and fight back if its troops or civilians are attacked during the brief respite from 18 days of violence - which officially started at 8am (6am UK time).

The ceasefire, which appears to be holding, comes after Israel suggested it is preparing to "broaden" its ground assault on Gaza after reportedly rejecting an international plan for a week-long truce.

US Secretary of State John Kerry remains "confident progress can be made" on a seven-day truce that would "bring people together to create a more durable plan".

Smoke billows from Gaza City after Israeli airstrikes

However, on Friday evening Israel's defence minister told troops: "You need to be ready for the possibility that very soon we will instruct the military to significantly broaden the ground operation in Gaza."

Ahead of the truce, eight Palestinians were killed by an airstrike in Gaza and Israeli troops shot dead two teenagers in continuing West Bank protests in the early hours of Saturday morning.

Nasri Mahmud Paqatqa, 16, was killed and five others wounded in a clash at the village of Beit Fajar, south of Bethlehem, and 18-year-old Bassem Abu Rub died in a protest at the Jalama military checkpoint in the northern West Bank, Palestinian officials told AFP.

In Gaza, two Israeli soldiers were killed in fighting on Friday evening, the army confirmed.

Mr Kerry is now heading to Paris for international talks on a ceasefire, with Britain, Germany, Turkey and Qatar among those attending.

A map showing the areas of conflict and violence

He told a news conference in Cairo a "fundamental framework" for peace was in place and that it would "ultimately succeed".

"The world is watching tragic moment after tragic moment unfold and is wondering when everybody is going to come to their senses," said Mr Kerry.

An unnamed source from the Israeli government said they were seeking modifications as the truce proposal "leans too much towards Hamas demands".

Speaking alongside Mr Kerry, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said there had been "tireless efforts" to bring both sides to the table, and that the people of Gaza have "bled enough".

"They are trapped… living under constant fear of rocket attacks," he said. "Surely now, all parties must realise it's time to act."

Some 140,000 people have fled Gaza since the latest conflict began on July 8.

More than 880 Palestinians, many of them civilians, have lost their lives.

Three civilians have died in Israel from rocket fire, while 37 Israeli soldiers have been killed during combat.

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Air Algerie Plane Wreckage Found In Mali

The wreckage of an Air Algerie flight which vanished from radar in West Africa has been discovered in southern Mali - but no survivors have yet been found, authorities have said.

Burkina Faso's commander in chief Gilbert Diendere said the burnt-out wreckage of flight AH5017 was found south of the Mali town of Gao.

Local Malian authorities in the nearby town of Gossi also told Reuters the wreckage had been located there.

General Diendere said the search team had gone from Burkina Faso to Mali to follow up on information they had received about the possible crash location.

Families of the 116 people onboard wait for news

He said: "The team went to meet, first of all, our informers and bring our informers on the crash site. And indeed, the mission found, on the site, pieces of the plane, this team found on the site, sadly, remains of dead bodies.

"We were not able to evaluate exactly what is the situation as night began to fall and this team has confirmed that it has seen the remains of the plane, totally burned out and scattered on the ground."

Minister of communications Alain Edouard Traore described the accident as the greatest tragedy in the country's air history.

AH5017 left Ouagadougou airport at 1.17am local time. Pic: Sputniktilt

He said President Ibrahim Boubacar Keita, who has declared two days of national mourning, is due to visit the crash site today.

The Air Algerie jet, which was carrying 110 passengers and six crew, was travelling from Burkina Faso's capital Ouagadougou to the Algerian capital Algiers when it disappeared around 50 minutes into the flight.

Earlier, France's foreign minister Laurent Fabius said authorities believed the aircraft may have encountered bad weather after the pilot requested to change direction shortly after take-off due to a storm.

However, he said no theories had been excluded.

The twin-engined MD-83 carries 168 people

Burkina Faso's transport minister Jean Bertin Ouedrago said the plane's passenger list included 51 French citizens.

Also on the jet were 27 Burkina Faso nationals, eight Lebanese, six Algerians, five Canadians, four Germans, two Luxemburg nationals, one Swiss, one Belgian, one Egyptian, one Ukrainian, one Nigerian, one Cameroonian and one Malian.

The six crew members were Spanish, according to the Spanish pilots' union.

Flight AH5017 is owned by Spanish private airline Swiftair and operated by Air Algerie.

The McDonnell Douglas MD-83 had been missing for hours before news of its disappearance was made public.

Ouagadougou is in almost a straight line south of Algiers, separated by Mali where unrest continues in the north of the country.

Airlines had been warned not to fly over Mali in recent days, Sky News understands.

However, a senior French official said it is unlikely that fighters in Mali could shoot down a plane.

They are known to have shoulder-fired weapons which could not hit an aircraft travelling at a cruising altitude of some 33,000ft.

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Two Palestinians Killed In West Bank Protest

Key Dates In The Gaza-Israel Conflict

Updated: 11:43am UK, Thursday 24 July 2014

Israel's ground offensive in the Gaza Strip continues with forces attempting to destroy Hamas' weapons arsenal and rocketing-firing capabilities.

Here are the key events from the fighting that preceded and have followed Israel's operation:

July 8 - Israel launches "Operation Protective Edge" in a bid to quell near-daily militant rocket attacks in the aftermath of the abduction and killing of a Palestinian teenager in what appeared to be a revenge attack for the seizure and slaying of three Israeli teenagers in the West Bank in June.

July 9 - Hamas rockets rain deep into Israel as the military pummels Palestinian targets. The military says 74 rockets landed in Israel, including in the northern city of Hadera, the deepest rocket strike ever from Gaza. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says Hamas will pay a "heavy price".

July 10 - Israel intensifies its bombardment. UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon urges an immediate ceasefire but neither side shows much interest in halting the fighting.

July 11 - Mr Netanyahu vows to press forward with a broad military offensive. The Israeli military says it has hit more than 1,100 targets, mostly rocket-launching sites, while Palestinian militants fired more than 600 rockets at Israel. The Lebanese military says militants there fired three rockets toward Israel and the Israelis retaliated with about 25 artillery shells.

July 12 - Gaza City becomes a virtual ghost town as streets empty, shops close and hundreds of thousands of people keep close to home. The death toll rises to more than 156 Palestinians after more than 1,200 Israeli air strikes.

July 13 - Israel widens its campaign, targeting civilian institutions with suspected Hamas ties, and briefly deploys ground troops inside Gaza to raid a rocket launching site. Four Israeli soldiers are hurt during the brief incursion. Egypt, a key mediator between Israel and Hamas, continues to work behind the scenes.

July 14 - Israel says it's downed an unmanned drone along its southern coastline. Egypt presents a cease-fire plan that is praised by President Barack Obama at a White House dinner celebrating the Muslim holy month of Ramadan.

July 15 - Israeli Cabinet accepts Egypt's truce plan, halting fire for six hours but Hamas rejects the proposal, instead unleashing more rockets at Israel and prompting Israel to resume heavy bombardment. Rocket fire kills an Israeli man delivering food to soldiers, the first Israeli fatality in the fighting. Four Gaza boys, all cousins, are killed on a beach by shells fired from a navy ship.

July 16 - Hamas fires dozens of rockets into Israel, vowing not to agree to a ceasefire until its demands are met. The Gaza Interior Ministry's website says Israeli warplanes carried out dozens of airstrikes, targeting 30 houses, including those of four senior Hamas leaders. Later, both Israel and Hamas agree to a five-hour UN brokered "humanitarian" pause to start the following day.

July 17 - Both sides trade fire in run-up to the brief truce, which Gazans use to restock on food and other supplies. Israel says it foiled an attack by 13 Gaza militants who infiltrated through a tunnel. Fierce fighting resumes after the truce expires, including an airstrike that kills three Palestinian children. After nightfall, the Israeli military launches a ground invasion into Gaza Strip.

July 18 - Eight members of the same Palestinian family - two men, two women and four children - are killed by Israeli tank fire as the ground offensive to date claims the lives of 51 Palestinians and one Israeli soldier.

July 19 - UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon says he wants to meet both sides to try to secure a truce as Israel pledges to step up its ground offensive. Hamas says its fighters are "behind enemy lines" as security alerts are triggered in southern Israel.

July 20 - Fresh airstrikes, artillery shelling and gun battles overnight kill 12 Palestinians and two more Israeli soldiers, as Israel intensifies its ground offensive in Gaza. Israeli minister Naftali Bennett defends the ground offensive in Gaza and accuses Hamas of "self-genocide" by using women and children as human shields.

July 21 - Another airstrike kills 26 members of the same family, while seven more Israeli soldiers die in gun battles with Hamas fighters. Thirty of those wounded in the attack are reportedly medical staff.

July 22 - The Palestinian leadership proposes a ceasefire plan to mediators in Egypt which would be followed by five days of negotiations to stop the fighting which has claimed the lives of more than 600 Palestinians, many of them women and children, and 29 Israelis, including 27 soldiers.

July 23 - An international inquiry into Israel's actions in Gaza is launched, after the UN's Human Rights Commissioner says there is a "strong possibility" the country is guilty of war crimes. Several major airlines from the US, Europe and Canada suspend flights to and from Israel after a rocket fired from Gaza lands near Tel Aviv's Ben Gurion international airport.

July 24 - British Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond warns Benjamin Netanyahu the West is losing sympathy for Israel amid the rising number of civilian deaths during its offensive in Gaza, as international efforts to end the conflict intensify. However, hopes of an effective ceasefire quickly diminish after Israel vows to continue hunting Palestinian cross-border tunnels under any humanitarian truce, while Hamas also rejects a truce without the lifting of Israel's eight-year blockade of Gaza.

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UK Government Still Sending Arms To Russia

By Alistair Bunkall, Defence Correspondent

The UK Government is still exporting weapons to Russia despite the shooting down of flight MH17 and previously promising to cancel all arms-related contracts to Moscow.

As of May, there were 285 outstanding licences allowing UK companies to export arms either to Russia or to another country which might then in time sell weapons to Russia.

This is despite the former Foreign Secretary William Hague promising the House of Commons in March that "the UK will now, with immediate effect, suspend all extant licences and application processing for licences for direct export to Russia for military and dual-use items destined for Russian armed forces."

To date, only 34 of the 285 contracts have been cancelled.

The list of arms and parts that UK companies sell to Russia includes sniper rifles, body armour, assault rifles, communications equipment, small arms ammunition and night sights.

The total value of the contracts is £132m.

The Chairman of the Parliamentary Committee on Arms Export Controls, Sir John Stanley MP, has written to the current Foreign Secretary, Philip Hammond, asking whether the government plans to revoke the remaining licences.

In response to the figures, the Foreign Office issued a statement saying the "majority of export licences that remain in place for Russia are for commercial use but we are keeping all licences under review".

"This Government has not approved any licences for the export of rifles or ammunition to the Russian military," the statement added.

Across the whole of the EU, licences amounted to almost £160m or 200m Euros in military sales to Russia last year.

To add some context, the UK sent £4m of arms to Ukraine in 2013 - the EU total to Kiev was £30m.

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MH17 Crash Victims' Bodies Loaded Onto Plane

Coffins containing the bodies of the first 50 victims of downed Malaysia Airlines flight MH17 are being loaded onto aircraft to be flown back to the Netherlands from the crash site in eastern Ukraine.

Two military aircraft - a Dutch C130 Hercules and an Australian Boeing C17 - will fly the bodies to Eindhoven from Kharkiv Airport where they will be met by relatives, the Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte and members of the Dutch royal family.

Sky's Michelle Clifford, at the airport, said: "The real difficulty is planes are going to be coming in with bodies on board - but none of those families know whether their loved ones are going to be on those planes."

Simon Smith, Britain's ambassador to Ukraine, also at the scene, told Sky News: "This is an extremely difficult operation that requires a lot of different nations coming together to pool their skills and expertise."

An aircraft waiting at Kharkiv Airport to fly bodies to the Netherlands

A national day of mourning for the 298 people on board the downed Malaysia Airlines plane, the majority of whom were Dutch, has been declared for today, including a silent march in Amsterdam for the victims this evening.

A minute's silence will be held before a motorcade takes the bodies to the Korporaal van Oudheusden military barracks in Hilversum, where the long process of identifying the remains will begin.

Mr Rutte has warned the identification process could take weeks or even months.

A British team of police officers, led by the Metropolitan Police, will help identify the victims.

floral tributes for the victims of MH17 at Schiphol Airport, near Amsterdam

The Boeing 777-200 took off from Amsterdam's Schiphol Airport, bound for Kuala Lumpur in Malaysia last Thursday when it was brought down near Grabovo, Donetsk, where Ukrainian forces have been battling separatists.

The bodies of the victims were released by rebels in Ukraine on Tuesday, who said the remains of 282 people were on board a refrigerated train.

However, a member of the Dutch forensics team said there were only 200 bodies, in addition to some body parts. It is thought more than 80 bodies have been left at the scene.

A Malaysian air crash investigator inspects the crash site of MH17

Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott said it was still unclear how many bodies had arrived in Kharkiv and how many may have been left behind.

Investigators from the Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) at the crash scene confirmed there were still some unrecovered human remains and "smaller body parts".

The jet's two black box flight data recorders have also been handed over by separatists and will be examined by British experts from the UK Air Accidents Investigation Branch in Farnborough, Hampshire.

Russia has been accused of arming the pro-Russian rebels who are suspected of shooting down the plane.

A train carrying the bodies of some of the victims of flight MH17

As a result, the EU has agreed to impose sanctions on more Russian officials.

A senior US intelligence official said they believed pro-Russian separatists shot down the flight by mistake.

He confirmed evidence suggests the Russian government was not directly involved in causing the crash, but it "created the conditions" for the plane to be brought down by the rebels.

The official added Moscow was still supplying separatists with tanks and rocket launchers.

President Barack Obama visited the Dutch embassy in Washington on Tuesday and wrote in a condolence book: "We will not rest until we are certain that justice is done."

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Putin: MH17 Observers Need To Be Protected

Vladimir Putin has vowed to "do everything to ensure the security and safety" of experts investigating the Malaysia Airlines atrocity.

The Russian President said "all people" in Ukraine are responsible to the families of the 298 people lost when flight MH17 was brought down by a missile launcher last week.

"No one has the right to use this tragedy for any kind of vested interest in the political sense. Such incidents should unite people rather than separate them," Mr Putin said.

"It is necessary that all people who are responsible for the situation in the region of Ukraine improve their responsibility to their own people, and to the people of the countries whose representatives have been victims of this crash.

"We need to do everything to ensure the security and safety of the observers and the experts working at the crash site."

Mr Putin's comments came after US Secretary of State John Kerry said intelligence assessments had provided overwhelming evidence of Russian complicity in the downing of MH17.

Mr Kerry also demanded Russia take responsibility for the actions of pro-Moscow rebels in Eastern Ukraine, branding their mishandling of victims' bodies as "grotesque".

British Chancellor George Osborne told Sky News that tougher sanctions against Russia "may well be required".

A woman and a child view tributes to the victims at Schiphol Airport

Ukrainian government investigators say 251 of the 298 bodies have now been found at the site, and will be taken away on a second train loaded with refrigerator wagons.

They said the first train carrying 192 bodies is stuck in the town of Torez because "terrorists are blocking its exit".

Mr Putin has promised Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte he will help retrieve bodies and black boxes from the crash site.

However, Mary Dejevsky, a Russian and EU analyst, told Sky News that Mr Putin controls rebels in the area "far less than is commonly believed outside Russia".

She said no-one controls the area which is "one of the reasons why things are so desperate there".

People work at the crash site of Malaysia Airlines flight MH17

As public anger grows over claims of looting and evidence being tampered with at the crash site, Mr Kerry threatened "additional steps" against Moscow, while calling on European allies to take a tougher stance with sanctions.

He stopped short of blaming Moscow directly for shooting down the jet, but argued there was an overwhelming case that Russia had equipped insurgents with the sophisticated missile system needed to destroy an aircraft flying at 33,000ft.

"It's pretty clear that this is a system that was transferred from Russia," Mr Kerry said.

Moscow has denied any involvement and has blamed Ukrainian forces for bringing down the airliner.

The UN Security Council will today vote on a resolution to condemn the downing of the aircraft.

The resolution, drafted by Australia, demands that those responsible for bringing the plane down will be held accountable, and that armed groups do not compromise the integrity of the crash site.

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MH17: 'Terrorists Blocking Train Of Bodies'

The first train containing bodies from the MH17 crash site is being blocked by "terrorists", the Ukrainian government has said.

In a statement, the government said the train, which is carrying the remains of 200 victims, is stuck at the station in the town of Torez.

Rescuers have found 251 bodies of the 298 victims in the area where the Malaysia Airlines flight came down in eastern Ukraine on Thursday, the statement went on.

Some 86 body parts have also been recovered.

The blocking of the train comes despite comments from Russian President Vladimir Putin that "we need to do everything to ensure the security and safety of the observers and the experts working at the crash site".

Sky's Katie Stallard, reporting in Moscow, said: "The Ukraine government uses the word terrorists, we would probably use the word rebels or separatists.

"If President Putin's statement was meant to move those people or indicate to them that they should now co-operate, that is plainly not happening."

Refrigerator wagons will take bodies away from the crash site

A second train with refrigerator wagons to take the remains away has arrived in the area.

The destinations of the trains is not known.

Meanwhile, Ukrainian government forces are trying to break into the rebel-held city of Donetsk, according to reports from the separatists.

Fighting is under way near the city's railway station, with reports of four government and two rebel tanks heading to the area.

More follows...

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Russia 'Arming Thugs' Blamed For MH17 Crash

Britain Warns Putin: World's Eyes Are On You

Updated: 8:48pm UK, Saturday 19 July 2014

Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond has warned Vladimir Putin the "world's eyes are on Russia to make sure she delivers" on her obligations to the victims killed in the Ukraine plane disaster.

His comments come as David Cameron and Dutch counterpart Mark Rutte called for the European Union to "reconsider its approach to Russia" in light of evidence pro-Moscow separatists brought down the flight on Thursday.

Mr Cameron also spoke to Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott, while Britain's Russian ambassador has been summoned to the Foreign Office.

The UK's response follows accusations pro-Russian separatists removed 38 bodies from the crash scene and attempted to destroy evidence at the site.

The Ukraine government said "terrorists, with the help of Russia, are trying to destroy evidence of international crimes," adding it had obtained data which showed bodies had been taken to a morgue in Donetsk.

Dutch Foreign Minister Frans Timmermans said the Netherlands was "angry" and "furious" by allegations bodies were being dragged around the site.

However, Sky's Chief Correspondent Stuart Ramsay, at the scene, said there were reports rebels had moved bodies on Friday, but body parts were now officially being removed by Ukraine emergency ministry staff.

Mr Hammond, who chaired an emergency Cobra meeting on Saturday, accused Russia of not doing enough to move separatists from the site.

"We're not getting enough support from the Russians, we're not seeing Russia using their influence effectively enough to get the separatists, who are in control of the site, to allow the access that we need," he said.

"This is not about Russia and the West, this is about the whole community demanding that proper access is made available to this site, the victims are properly recovered, and evidence is secured."

Ukraine's Security Council said 18sq km of the 25sq km had been explored and 186 bodies found, while there have been discussions between the two factions over the creation of a "security zone" around the crash scene following allegations of looting and evidence being compromised.

Concerns have been raised by Malaysia about the investigation as a team of international observers complained of being confronted by aggressive armed rebels.

A Ukraine Security Council spokesman said 15 pieces of military equipment were brought over the border from Russia into the eastern Luhansk region overnight.

Critically, the monitors have been unable to speak to anyone about the whereabouts of the jet's two black box voice and data recorders.

However, Alexander Borodai, head of the self-proclaimed Donetsk People's Republic, denied rebels had shot down the plane, found the black boxes, or removed bodies. But he said body parts which had fallen into people's homes had been taken away.

British experts are due to join the investigation at the crash site over the weekend.

Some 298 people including 10 Britons and 80 children were killed when flight MH17, flying from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur, was brought down near Grabovo, Donetsk, where Ukrainian forces have been battling separatists.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and US Secretary of State John Kerry agreed on Saturday that both countries would use their influence on the two sides of the Ukraine conflict to end hostilities

:: The Foreign Office has set up a helpline for anyone concerned.  Text MH17 to +447860010026, or call 020 7008 1500. Malaysia Airlines's emergency line is 00 6 037 884 1234.

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Rebels Call For Truce To Allow MH17 Probe

Pro-Russian separatists have said they will grant monitors safe access to the Malaysia Airlines crash site if Kiev agrees a truce.

Andrei Purgin, deputy PM of the self-proclaimed Donetsk People's Republic said his troops would "guarantee the safety of international experts on the scene" as soon as a deal with Ukraine was struck on a ceasefire.

If the offer was rejected by Kiev, he warned it would suggest the government was made up of "dangerous lunatics, bloodthirsty maniacs (who are) dangerous not only for the residents of Donbass but also for the world community".

The move came as world leaders piled pressure on Russian President Vladimir Putin to stop the armed Moscow-backed rebels from preventing investigators from fully accessing the MH17 crash site.

A message left among floral tributes outside the Dutch Embassy in Kiev

British Prime Minister David said Europe and the West must "fundamentally change our approach" unless Mr Putin alters his stance.

Writing in the Sunday Times Mr Cameron said: "The growing weight of evidence points to a clear conclusion: that MH17 was blown out of the sky by a surface-to-air missile fired from a rebel-held area.

"If it is the case, then we must be clear what it means: this is a direct result of Russia destabilising a sovereign state, violating its territorial integrity, backing thuggish militias, and training and arming them."

The prospect of further sanctions against Russia was raised as public anger and concerns grow over claims of looting and evidence being compromised.

The US has condemned the lack of security at the scene, while Malaysia has attacked the failure to preserve evidence as a "betrayal of the lives lost".

International monitors and journalists are confronted by armed separatists

US Secretary of State John Kerry told Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov  reports that the remains of some victims and debris from the site are being tampered with or inappropriately removed from the site amounted to an an "affront to all those who lost loved ones and to the dignity the victims deserve".

Critically, investigators have been unable to speak to anyone about the whereabouts of the jet's two black box voice and data recorders.

Ukraine has said they have not been handed over to Kiev and it has no information about them, while the rebels have denied shooting down the plane, finding the black boxes, and rubbished claims they have removed bodies from the crash site.

All 298 passengers including 10 Britons and 80 children were killed when flight MH17, flying from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur, was brought down near Grabovo, Donetsk, where Ukrainian forces have been battling separatists.

Kiev and Moscow have blamed each other for the disaster.

More follows...

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