Massing of troops will stop access

AIR-CRASH investigators will be unlikely to gain safe and extended access to the site of the downed MH17.

AIR-CRASH investigators will be unlikely to gain safe and extended access to the site of the downed airline as Ukraine’s parliament approves a mass call-up of men for military assault on the area.

The multinational team of aviation experts, including three Australians, had hoped to arrive at the crash site near the rebel stronghold of Donetsk to begin the forensic investigation into the crash, believed to have been shot down by a surface-to-air missile.

But late yesterday Ukraine ordered a mass mobilisation against the two remaining separatist-held cities of Donetsk and Luhansk, calling up all men younger than 50. Luhansk is expected to be conquered by government troops by this weekend.

Outlying towns and villages and satellite suburbs of the two large cities have been seized back by Ukrainian troops in the past three days, with mixed reports on the number of casualties.

Donetsk came under heavy shelling again yesterday as government troops closed in on the rebel stronghold city. At about 7pm, the main rail line between Donetsk and the Ukrainian capital Kiev was cut off, with the tracks bombed and a bridge knocked out. Trains were being rerouted.

In the nearby town of Horlivka, Ukrainian troops were also involved in a gunfight with rebels, with a misguided missile killing two prisoners from a nearby jail and wounding four others.

All cash machines in Donetsk are empty and banks have been closed for weeks. Many shops have decided to close, partially because almost half the population has fled since hostilities began in March. Hundreds of residents have fled the city in the past three days.

Russian President Vladimir Putin vowed yesterday that his nation would do “everything in its power” to ensure the crash invest­igation could take place, a remark the Ukrainian government has interpreted as meaning Russia would further aid the separatists.

During a meeting with his secur­ity council, Mr Putin said Russia was willing to put pressure on the rebels but “that was not enough” to resolve the situation. He condemned Kiev for continuing to shell parts of the region, saying international observers there could “barely stick their heads out” because of safety concerns.

“Ultimately, there is a need to call on the authorities in Kiev to respect basic norms of decency and, at least for a short time, implement a ceasefire,” he said.

It was Mr Putin’s first lengthy response to the crisis involving Malaysia Airlines Flight MH17 that crashed within rebel-held territory about 70km from Donetsk.

Despite Western sanctions, he said Moscow would stand by the separatists in eastern Ukraine, describing them as part of a popular rising against an illegal coup.