MH17 crash: latest news - Telegraph

19.10 This is interesting from Tom Parfitt

18.51 A young woman in eastern Ukraine provoked outrage by allegedly posting a picture of herselfon Instagram using a mascara wand looted from the crash site of Flight MH17, Tom Parfitt reports.

Yekaterina Parkhomenko uploaded a photograph on Instagram of her hand holding the Catricecosmetic with the caption: "Mascara from Amsterdam; to be precise, from the field. Well, youunderstand."

Russian and Ukrainian media said it could not be ruled out that the post was a fake, but that itappeared to be authentic.

Asked by another user on Instagram where the mascara had come from, Ms Parkhomenko repliedthat she had got it "from a looter acquaintance".

17.34 There will be a special meeting with industry groups to discuss ways to minimise risks inconflict zones in Montreal on Tuesday, Reuters reports.

The International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) said in a release that it will host officials fromthe International Air Transport Association, Airports Council International and the Civil AirNavigation Services Organisation.

17.21 Meanwhile, the Pentagon has said the transfer of heavy calibre, multiple launch rockets fromRussia to Ukrainian separatists is imminent, "potentially today", according to Reuters.

17.07 Dutch troops have been consigned to barracks and had leave cancelled ahead of a possiblemission to secure the MH17 crash site in rebel-held Ukraine, the defence ministry said on Friday:

People are consigned to barracks so that they can respond quickly if there's need

In this case that means that troops must be available and can't take leave. This is standardprocedure in a planning process

16.35 America is trying to influence public opinion against Russia over MH17 and Ukraine through"unfounded public insinuations" and "anti-Russian cliches", Moscow has claimed.

A Russian foreign ministry spokesman said:

We deny the unfounded public insinuations that State Department Spokeswoman M. Harfrepeats day after day

In journalistic briefings in previous days she has produced anti-Russian cliches that Washingtonstubbornly tries to impose on international opinion

The comments come in response to a US briefing on Thursday that claimed Russia was firingartillery across the border into Ukraine to target Ukrainian military positions in the conflict againstpro-Russian separatists.

16.25 Russia's foreign minister Sergey Labrov has said the United States must share some blame forthe bloodshed in Ukraine because it supported a "coup" in Kiev.

16.00 Would there have been a Ukraine crisis if the Soviet Union had never collapsed?

The Telegraph's Tim Stanley ponders the hypothetical:

15.54 As Dutch and Australian governments pledge to secure the MH17 crash site by sendingsecurity detachments to the eastern Ukraine region, defence analyst Justin Bronk warns AFP that itwill be a "dangerous tightrope act":

They want to use as few lightly equipped troops as possible to avoid provoking the Russians

Bear in mind, part of the reason that this whole conflict started is over Russia's view that the West,in the guise of both NATO and the EU, are coming ever further eastwards

At the same time, to ensure their protection they will want to send them with quite heavy equipment,given the equipment both sides are firing at each other in the region.

15.30 Britain's Foreign Office has said it is helping protect victims of the MH17 plane disasteragainst potential fraud after one man claimed his relative's credit cards had been stolen from the

crash site. AFP reports:

A Foreign Office spokesman told AFP they were "working with family members to protectvictims from the possibility of financial and identity fraud."

It is feared that the lack of a security cordon and the scattered placement of personal belongings ofthe 298 victims have increased the risk of theft.

Meanwhile, images of the deceased's personal items, plus other information in the public domainabout the victims, could be of potential use to fraudsters.

Cameron Dalziel, a 43-year-old helicopter rescue pilot from South Africa who was travelling on aBritish passport, had his cards taken, brother-in-law Shane Hattingh said.

"We've been told some of his cards were stolen," he told The Sun newspaper.

"After all we've been through - to do this to the families is so cruel. It is leaving some struggling formoney. This really is the final insult, it is disgusting."

14.53 Ben Farmer has more details on the strong words used earlier by Geoffrey Pyatt, USambassador to Ukraine, on how the Kremlin is "pouring gasoline on the fire" by continuing to equipthe rebels with rocket launchers and other military equipment:

Mr Pyatt said the fields where wreckage is scattered over several square miles "are a giantcrime scene and they need to be treated that way".

"They need to be secured. Further disruption of the wreckage must be stopped. It's tragic that thesite has still not fully been secured."

He said: "What happened to MH17 is not a mystery. We know that the aircraft was brought down byan SA11 missile fired from separatist territory."

He said the US had evidence that tanks and heavy rocket launchers had continued to cross theborder. Artillery had also fired across the border, from Russia onto Ukrainian government positions.

"What we have seen from the Kremlin is pouring gasoline on the fire. What we have seen isescalation of military transfers across the Ukrainian border."

Vladimir Putin could stop the build-up "with one phone call", he said.

14.33 Cameron Dalziel, a 43-year-old helicopter rescue pilot from South Africa who was travelling ona British passport, had his cards taken, brother-in-law Shane Hattingh.

We've been told some of his cards were stolen," he told The Sun newspaper.

"After all we've been through - to do this to the families is so cruel. It is leaving some struggling formoney. This really is the final insult, it is disgusting."

Dalziel's wife Raine was trying to cancel her husband's cards, but had trouble doing so because theyare not in her own name and she does not have a death certificate because his body has not yet beenidentified, the tabloid said.

14.31 The British Foreign Office is helping protect victims of the MH17 plane disaster againstpotential fraud after one man claimed his relative's credit cards had been stolen from the crash site.

A Foreign Office spokesman told AFP they were "working with family members to protect victimsfrom the possibility of financial and identity fraud."

It is feared the lack of a security cordon and the scattered placement of personal belongings of the298 victims have increased the risk of theft.

Meanwhile, images of the deceased's personal items, plus other information in the public domainabout the victims, could be of potential use to fraudsters.

14.14 Meanwhile, according to AP, Russia has announced a ban on all dairy imports from Ukrainestarting next week, a move Kiev has dismissed as politically motivated.

The Russian agency in charge of agricultural products said Friday it is banning imports of Ukrainiandairy starting Monday because of numerous quality flaws found in its products. Russia is a keymarket for Ukrainian dairy products.

13.40 Russia said around 40 mortar shells fired by Ukrainian forces fell on Friday in its Rostovprovince near the border with eastern Ukraine where Kiev is fighting pro-Russian separatists.

"Around 40 mortar shells have fallen from Ukraine ... in Rostov province," Vasily Malayev, arepresentative of the region's Federal Security Service devoted to border security, was cited by thestate Ria Novosti news agency as saying.

13.30 ITV News claims to have seen fresh wreckage of MH17 in a forest near to the main crash sitein Grabovo, eastern Ukraine:

There are no bodies among the mangled section of the plane and ITV News staff on theground say there are no guards or security at the scene whatsoever.

Newly-found MH17 wreckage lies unguarded in forest (@ITVNEWS)

13.10 More details have emerged about Fatima Dyczynski, a 25-year-old Australian among thevictims of the MH17 disaster, whose parents have defied prime minister Tony Abbott's warnings andarrived in Ukraine to search for their daughter at the crash site in person. Jonathan Pearlmanreports:

The parents of Fatima have persisted, paying their own way for a trip to Amsterdam andonward flights to Donetsk.

"I told her 'sunshine in Perth for Friday when you arrive' and she said 'Mum I need it so much,sunshine'," said Mrs Rudhart-Dyczynski .

"Fatima was an inspiration to thousands of people. She had TEDx talks, she had friends, she hadFacebook, she communicated with people all over the world from America, to Israel, Germany...We've been thinking what was her message she wanted to say and it was 21st century science, itwas high-class intelligence and it was for the benefit of humankind, to use the intelligence tounderstand mankind better and our planet better."

On her Facebook page, just days before she flew on MH17, she wrote of her passion for life and herfuture.

"Infinite potential," she wrote. "For this Earth, Galaxy and beyond. Always remember: don't letgravity hold us back."

12.36 The Dutch prime minister, seen as having a key role to play in shaping the European Union'sresponse to the downing of a Malaysian airliner last week, said Russia could avert EU sanctions if itstopped arming pro-Moscow rebels in Ukraine. Reuters reports:

"All indications are that Russia is continuing to arm the separatists," he told a parliamentarycommittee on Friday. "There's an easy way out for Russia: to distance themselves from theseparatists, and stop arming them."

He said the Netherlands would support sanctions if Russia did not do so, and also if it were proventhat Russia had been behind the downing of the airliner, in which 298 people, including 194 Dutch,lost their lives.

12.25 The US ambassador to Kiev has accused the Kremlin of "pouring gasoline on the fire" byescalating military build up in eastern Ukraine.

The comments come in response to reports that Russia is planning to send rebels heavy armour and'more powerful' rocket launchers

Geoffrey Pyatt said Vladimir Putin could stop it "with one phone call".

12.20 In a rare Russian show of contrition over the country's role in the MH17 disaster, NovayaGazeta newspaper has published this front page, with the headline translating to "Forgive us,Netherlands":

However, the Telegraph's Moscow Correspondent Tom Parfitt says this conciliatory tone does notnecessarily represent wider Russian sentiment:

Novaya Gazeta is a marginal opposition newspaper with low circulation. There has been very littlecontrition in mass market newspapers or on TV. The general feeling in society is that Russia wasfitted up.

11.30 The European Union is expected to target Russia's most senior spies and security officials withasset freezes and travel bans later today, in the latest measures against Moscow over its role in theMH17 disaster and ongoing interference in the eastern Ukraine rebel uprising. Bruno Waterfieldreports from Brussels:

Russia's two most senior intelligence chiefs will be added to an EU blacklist under existing sanctionstargeting officials held directly responsible for destabilising East Ukraine.

Next week, in a major escalation of sanctions, the EU will widen asset freezes and bans to Russianoligarchs and "cronies" of Vladimir Putin before moving on to threaten Russia with far-reachingeconomic sanctions over the summer.

Alexander Bortnikov, director of the Federal Security Service the successor to the Soviet Union'sfeared KGB, is expected to be added to the EU's sanctions list alongside Mikhail Fradkov, the headof Russia's Foreign Intelligence Service.

The list also includes the head of the Russian Security Council, Nikolai Patrushev and the Kremlin-backed Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov, who has been accused of sending fighters to supportseparatists in Ukraine.

Full report: EU to target Russia top spies with sanctions

11.10 The traumatised parents of a 25 year-old who was aboard MH17 say they refuse to believe sheis dead and have flown from Australia to the crash site in Ukraine to find her. Jonathan Pearlmanreports:

Jerzy Dyczynski and Angela Rudhart-Dyczynski have ignored official warnings to avoidtravelling to the crash site and have arrived in Kiev from Perth to look for their daughter Fatima ineastern Ukraine.

Dr Dyczynski likened the search to the efforts to find missing people in the Australian bush, in whichtownships often rally together for large-scale hunts.

Saying an inner voice told him he would find his daughter alive, he said: "I cling to it... in Australia,when one person [goes missing] hundreds of people go to the bush and look until they are found. Sowe want to [do the same]. We want to see if there are survivors."

Fatima Dyczynski, who intended to become an astronaut, moved with her parents from Germany toPerth seven years ago and then went to the Netherlands to study a Bachelor of AerospaceEngineering. She was flying on MH17 to Australia, where she planned to spend time with herparents before returning to complete her masters.

Full report: Parents visit Malaysia Airlines crash site in Ukraine 'to find daughter'

10.51 Australian governor-general Sir Peter Cosgrove (third right) and Lady Lynne Cosgrove(second right) bow their heads before laying a wreath at a memorial for victims of the MalaysiaAirlines Flight MH-17, at Schiphol Airport:

EPA

10.23 Life News, a website with close ties to the Russian security services, has released a videointerview with Nadezhda Savchenko, the female Ukrainian pilot captured by the Russian separatists,who is now in custody in Russia.

She appears to confirm she was detained by the separatists rather than crossing into Russiavoluntarily, as claimed by Moscow. She says she thinks the separatists did not knock down MH17because they didn't have the knowhow.

Earlier this month, Russia charged Ms Savchenko with abetting the killing of two Russian journalistsafter she was allegedly captured by pro-Russian rebels during the civil war in eastern Ukraine.

10.00 Support for sanctions against Russia following the MH17 disaster continues to swell inGermany, where leading industrial figures have backed Angela Merkel's calls for tougher measures.

Leading industrialist Eckhard Cordes has said he supports sanctions against Moscow after opposingthe idea for months.

09.25 Jonathan Pearlman reports from Sydney on the Australian plans to send personnel to theMH17 crash site to help secure the ongoing investigation:

Tony Abbott has now announced another 100 police officers are to head to Europe with asmall number of troops - to join a 90-strong police force already there.

Most are in the Netherlands but the aim is to go to Ukraine. Mr Abbott says the aim is to bring theAustralians home, not to meddle in politics.

09.06 With further MH17 victims' bodies due to arrive in Eindhoven today, it is worth reflecting onthe remarkable show of respect by the Dutch public as the first victims arrived home on Wednesday,and were transported by hearses from the airport to Hilversum military airbase, where identificationhas begun and the process of returning loved ones to their families:

08.30 Ukrainian troops have retaken the strategically-important city of Lysychansk in easternUkraine, as they press on with their offensive to stamp out the pro-Russian rebellion which

continues to block access to the MH17 crash site, President Petro Poroshenko said. AFP reports:

Ukrainian forces have raised the flag over the town council in Lysychansk," the presidencysaid in a statement late Thursday.

Operations were continuing to drive the remaining insurgents out of the town, the statement said.

Lysychansk - a city of around 105,000 some 90 kilometres northwest of the rebel stronghold ofLugansk - was seized by separatists in early April at the start of a bloody insurgency that has nowclaimed the lives of some 1,000 people, including the nearly 300 on board downed Malaysia Airlinesflight MH17.

The government offensive against the rebels has made significant progress since rebelsunexpectedly fled a string of key towns earlier this month.

Government forces say they are now closing in on the major cities of Lugansk and Donetsk, wherethe bulk of the insurgent fighters have dug in and pledged to fight to the death.

08.20 Petro Poroshenko, Ukraine's president, has said there is no need for the cabinet to stopworking despite the prime minister's resignation, as he called for calm in the troubled country:

I hope that the strong emotions will calm down and be trumped by cold reason and a sense ofresponsibility and that the entire Ukrainian cabinet will continue its work

Ukraine's cabinet on Friday elevated deputy prime minister Volodymyr Groysman - who has beencoordinating Kiev's response to the downing of Malaysian flight MH17 in east Ukraine - to the postof acting premier.

07.40 Over in Ukraine, the country remains in political turmoil following the resignation yesterday ofprime minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk after his ruling coalition collapsed.

The country is still locked in a battle with pro-Russian separatists in the east, who continue to blockinternational access to the MH17 crash zone.

Australia and Holland are expected to announce the sending of unarmed military police to securethe crash zone - the countries' foreign ministers are in Kiev discussing.

07.30 Good morning and welcome to our live coverage of the events surrounding the MH17 planecrash.

The remains of victims of the Malaysia Airlines flight MH17 disaster in eastern Ukraine continue toarrive in Holland today, from where the majority of the doomed airliner's 298 passengers hailed.

Meanwhile, Dutch prime minister Mark Rutte is expected to brief the country's lower house on latestdevelopments surrounding the MH17 plane disaster, in which 193 of those killed were Dutch, fromaround 9.00am UK time.

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