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Fighting Again Forces International Team in Ukraine to Retreat Fighting Again Forces International Team in Ukraine to Retreat
(about 1 hour later)
SHAKHTYORSK, Ukraine — An international delegation of European monitors and police officials seeking access to the wreckage of a Malaysia Airlines jetliner was again forced to retreat in eastern Ukraine on Monday as artillery duels blocked the route to the crash site. SHAKHTYORSK, Ukraine — Artillery fire blocked the route to the wreckage of the Malaysia Airlines jetliner in eastern Ukraine on Monday, forcing an international delegation of European monitors and police officials to turn back without reaching the crash site.
The setback in efforts to secure the site, to recover any further bodies and to begin an independent investigation came as a senior United Nations official said the downing of the Boeing 777-200 on July 17 may constitute a war crime. The setback in efforts to secure the site, to recover any more bodies and to begin an independent investigation came as Navi Pillay, the most senior United Nations human rights official, said the downing of the Boeing 777-200 on July 17 may constitute a war crime. She did not ascribe blame.
At the same time, the official, Navi Pillay, the United Nations high commissioner for human rights, offered a grim confirmation of the mounting tensions in eastern Ukraine. She said the death toll since mid-April from “extremely alarming” clashes in regions controlled by pro-Moscow separatists was more than 1,100, and blamed the rebels for imposing a “reign of fear and terror.” Ukrainian government troops are trying to retake control of the region around the crash site from pro-Russia rebels. The Russian foreign minister, Sergey V. Lavrov, said on Monday that the United Nations should guarantee security in the area, and he called on Ukraine to respect a United Nations Security Council resolution of July 21 that called on all parties to refrain from any action that would complicate the investigation.
“This violation of international law, given the prevailing circumstances, may amount to a war crime,” Ms. Pillay said, referring to the downing of the Malaysian airliner. She did not ascribe blame. United Nations monitors and Ukrainian officials displayed growing concern over allegations of human rights violations in eastern Ukraine. A report by United Nations rights monitors, released on Monday, said that “a total breakdown of law and order and a reign of fear and terror have been inflicted by armed groups on the population.”
The plane fell from the sky over eastern Ukraine en route from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, killing all 298 people aboard. Ukrainian and American officials say a Russian-made surface-to-air missile fired by separatist rebels brought down the jetliner. The Kremlin and the rebels have denied the accusation, blaming Ukraine for the crash. Anton Gerashchenko, an adviser to the interior minister of Ukraine, said on Monday that officials had found a mass grave containing 14 bodies in the center of the city of Slovyansk, which was a rebel stronghold until government troops recaptured it earlier this month.
In a development likely to fuel further recriminations between Ukraine and its Western backers on one side and the rebels and their Russian supporters on the other, Andriy Lysenko, a spokesman for Ukraine’s National Security and Defense Council, said that an analysis of the airliner’s flight recorders showed that shrapnel from a rocket blast had caused “massive explosive decompression.” The Malaysia Airlines plane, Flight 17, was on its way from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur when it fell from the sky in eastern Ukraine near the Russian border, killing all 298 people on board. Ukrainian and American officials say that a Russian-made surface-to-air missile fired by separatist rebels brought down the jetliner. The Kremlin and the rebels have denied the accusation and say Ukraine is to blame for the crash.
It was not clear how that interpretation had been made known to officials in Kiev, the Ukrainian capital, because the flight recorders are being examined in Britain. But Mr. Lysenko’s remarks were in line with other Western accounts and earlier independent analysis of wreckage from the plane showing signs of shrapnel. Andriy Lysenko, a spokesman for Ukraine’s National Security and Defense Council, said on Monday that an analysis of the airliner’s flight recorders showed that shrapnel from a rocket blast had caused “massive explosive decompression.”
In Moscow on Monday, however, the Russian foreign minister, Sergey V. Lavrov, repeated Moscow’s call for the United States to release whatever evidence it had to back up the accusation that the plane was brought down by a missile fired from rebel-controlled territory. It was not clear how that interpretation had been made known to officials in Kiev, the Ukrainian capital, because the flight recorders are being examined in Britain. But Mr. Lysenko’s remarks were in line with other Western accounts and earlier independent analysis of wreckage from the plane, showing signs of shrapnel.
Mr. Lavrov, the Russian foreign minister, repeated the Kremlin’s call for the United States to make public whatever evidence it had to back up the accusation that the plane had been brought down by a missile fired from rebel-controlled territory.
“We do not understand why the Americans, who say that they have strong evidence to support their accusation, why they do not show that evidence,” he said at an hourlong news conference.“We do not understand why the Americans, who say that they have strong evidence to support their accusation, why they do not show that evidence,” he said at an hourlong news conference.
Mr. Lavrov also said that the United Nations should guarantee security at the crash site, and he called on Ukraine to respect a United Nations Security Council resolution on July 21 that called on all parties to refrain from any action that would complicate the investigation. In eastern Ukraine, a large delegation of European monitors and unarmed Dutch and Australian police officers set out from the provincial capital, Donetsk, on Monday, trying to reach the crash site. Though several forensic experts accompanied the group, the main intention of the journey was to test the safety of the access route for larger groups of investigators who are seeking to recover bodies and evidence.
In Ukraine, a large delegation of European monitors and unarmed Dutch and Australian police officers drove from the provincial capital, Donetsk, toward the crash site on Monday. Though several forensic experts accompanied the group, the intention was to test the safety of the access route for larger groups of investigators who are seeking to recover bodies and evidence. The convoy left from an area of Donetsk under rebel control, and separatist fighters led the way in commandeered Ukrainian police cars, with their lights flashing. They were followed by vehicles of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe and a car carrying the heads of the Dutch and Australian police contingents.
Separatist fighters driving commandeered Ukrainian police cars drove in front, sirens flashing, followed by Organization for Security and Cooperation vehicles and a car carrying the head of the Dutch and Australian police contingents. Separatists at checkpoints along the road waved the convoy through. But at Shakhtyorsk, the group stopped for a time, and artillery explosions could be heard on the road ahead. The convoy inched forward again, but then turned back because of the danger.
Separatists at checkpoints waved the cars through. But at Shakhtyorsk the group stopped for a time, while artillery explosions could be heard on the road ahead. The convoy inched forward again but then turned back before reaching the crash site because of the danger. Mr. Lysenko, the government spokesman in Kiev, acknowledged that Ukrainian armed forces were in the region, but he denied that they were fighting near the wreckage of the Malaysian plane on Monday. “The Ukrainian military has approached the site of the crash, but is not engaged in any active combat,” he said at a news briefing in Kiev.
The episode reflected the perils confronting both Ukrainians in the region and outsiders seeking to gain access to it. In a report issued in Geneva, human rights monitors for the United Nations said that although “casualty figures are hard to gauge reliably,” the best available estimates show that at least 1,129 people have been killed and 3,442 wounded in eastern Ukraine since mid-April.
In a report issued in Geneva, monitors for the United Nations said on Monday that although “casualty figures are hard to gauge reliably,” the best available estimates show that at least 1,129 people have been killed and 3,442 wounded since mid-April.
Those figures were based partly on “conservative” estimates by the 39-member United Nations Human Rights Monitoring Mission in Ukraine and by the World Health Organization, the report said.Those figures were based partly on “conservative” estimates by the 39-member United Nations Human Rights Monitoring Mission in Ukraine and by the World Health Organization, the report said.
In the latest fighting over the weekend, at least eight civilians were killed in the rebel strongholds of Donetsk and Luhansk, news reports said on Monday. The United Nations report said more than 100,000 people had fled combat zones and sought refuge in other parts of Ukraine.
In her account of the fighting, Ms. Pillay said: “The reports of increasingly intense fighting in the Donetsk and Luhansk regions are extremely alarming, with both sides employing heavy weaponry in built-up areas, including artillery, tanks, rockets and missiles.” Since mid-April, it said, 812 people had been abducted or detained by rebels acting with impunity.
“Both sides must take great care to prevent more civilians from being killed or injured,” she added. “Already increasing numbers of people are being killed with serious damage to civilian infrastructure, which — depending on circumstances — could amount to violations of international humanitarian law. The fighting must stop.”
The latest United Nations report also noted a sharp increase in human rights abuses in the east of the country, including abductions, detentions and the disappearance and killing of journalists.
Apparently referring to pro-Russian separatists, the statement by Ms. Pillay’s organization quoted the report as saying that “a total breakdown of law and order and a reign of fear and terror have been inflicted by armed groups on the population of eastern Ukraine.”
The groups were held responsible for abducting, detaining, torturing and executing hostages to intimidate the civilian population and “to exercise their power over the population in raw and brutal ways.”
“Well organized and well equipped militarily, these armed groups have intensified their challenge to the government of Ukraine,” the report was quoted as saying. “In response, there has been an acceleration of government security operations during July in the areas still under the control of the armed groups, with heavy fighting located in and around population centers, resulting in loss of life, property and infrastructure and causing thousands to flee.”
The report said more than 100,000 people had fled combat zones and sought refuge in other parts of Ukraine.
Since mid-April, it said, 812 people had been abducted or detained by rebels acting with impunity, leading to “the collapse of the rule of law.”
“Some of those detained by the armed groups are local politicians, public officials and employees of the local coal mining industry; the majority are ordinary citizens, including teachers, journalists, members of the clergy and students,” the report said.“Some of those detained by the armed groups are local politicians, public officials and employees of the local coal mining industry; the majority are ordinary citizens, including teachers, journalists, members of the clergy and students,” the report said.
It added that there had been reports of detentions by Ukrainian government forces and “some cases of Ukrainian nationals who allegedly have been taken and are currently detained in the Russian Federation on various charges.” It added that there had also been reports of detentions by Ukrainian government forces, as well as “some cases of Ukrainian nationals who allegedly have been taken and are currently detained in the Russian Federation on various charges.”
On Sunday, the Obama administration stepped up its pressure on Moscow, as the State Department presented intelligence images as evidence that Russian forces had fired across the border. In Kiev, Mr. Gerashchenko, the interior ministry adviser, said that so far, investigators were able to identify four of the 14 bodies that were found in a mass grave in a grassy area in the center of Slovyansk, near an obelisk commemorating an unknown soldier. Mr. Gerashchenko said investigators had not yet determined how the victims had died, who had killed them or why. He said it appeared that some may have been separatists, while others may have been individuals captured and even “tortured” by separatists.
On Monday, Mr. Lavrov responded with an accusation of his own. If the United States and other allies of Kiev were concerned about cross-border incidents, Mr. Lavrov told reporters, they should have agreed weeks ago to station monitors from the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe at two border crossings. In Brussels, meanwhile, ambassadors from the 28 member states of the European Union were expected to resume meetings on Monday afternoon to discuss placing Russian oligarchs on a list of individuals facing travel restrictions and asset freezes. The move against the oligarchs is a noteworthy step in what has become a slow drip of sanctions and punitive measures since Russia annexed the Crimean Peninsula in March.
As to suggestions that the images show Russian weapons firing into Ukraine, Mr. Lavrov said, “Let the experts deal with them.” So far the only individuals to have faced such sanctions are those determined to have direct ties to the destabilization of Ukraine. By taking the further step of sanctioning the oligarchs, the Europeans aim to raise pressure on President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia by penalizing some of the wealthiest people in the country who form part of his inner circle.
But in Moscow, Mr. Lavrov said that while he evidently did not welcome the measures, he did not think that Europeans in particular wanted to impose them.
“We do not want to act tit-for-tat,” he said, adding that he was sure Russia could overcome any difficulties caused by the sanctions. “Maybe we will be even more independent and more confident in our own course,” he said.