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BOEING 777 CRASH IN DONBASS

Russia accuses Ukraine of violating MH17 crash site ceasefire resolution

Resolution 2166 adopted in the wake of the July 17 tragedy demanded a truce to ensure safety of the crash investigators

© AP Photo/Alexander Zemlianichenko

MOSCOW, August 08, /ITAR-TASS/. Ukraine's plans to resume fighting in the area of the Malaysia Airlines Boeing 777 crash site violate a resolution of the UN Security Council's, the Russian Foreign Ministry said on Friday.

Resolution 2166 adopted in the wake of the July 17 tragedy demanded a truce to ensure safety of the crash investigators. After that, Ukrainian President Pyotr Poroshenko announced a unilateral ceasefire in a 20-kilometre zone around the crash site.

However, the Ukrainian government said on Thursday that the ceasefire was suspended until the beginning of the second stage of the international investigation after the Netherlands decided to halt the mission working to recover victims and debris from the crash site for safety reasons.

The Russian Foreign Ministry condemned this move as "violation of Resolution 2166 demanding to immediately stop fighting near the site of the crash" that killed 298 people, including 85 children.

The Russian mission at the United Nations on Thursday urged the UN Security Council to adopt a statement calling on Ukraine to reinstate the ceasefire but it was rejected by the US, Australia and Lithuania, the ministry said. “We stress that these states bear responsibility for the bloodshed in southeast Ukraine because they continue indulging their partners in Kiev,” the ministry added.

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