UKRAINE-CRISIS/MH17-CRASH SITE-OSCE OSCE observers hold moment of silence at MH17 crash site

Record ID: 146821

  • Title: UKRAINE-CRISIS/MH17-CRASH SITE-OSCE OSCE observers hold moment of silence at MH17 crash site
  • Date: 17th July 2015
  • Summary: HRABOVE, UKRAINE (JULY 17, 2015) (REUTERS) CROSS AT MH17 CRASH SITE READING (Russian) "SAVE AND PROTECT" / OSCE VEHICLES IN BACKGROUND FRAMED PHOTO OF MH17 VICTIMS AT MAKESHIFT MEMORIAL OSCE VEHICLES CROSS AT MH17 CRASH SITE READING (Russian) "SAVE AND PROTECT" VARIOUS OF OSCE OBSERVERS HOLDING MOMENT OF SILENCE AT MH17 CRASH SITE OSCE LOGO ON VEHICLE NEW MEMORIAL AT MH17
  • Embargoed: 1st August 2015 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Ukraine
  • Country: Ukraine
  • Topics: General
  • Reuters ID: LVAACRYYASWVWFST03RB1JX4X9EG
  • Aspect Ratio: 16:9
  • Story Text: Monitors from the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe held a moment of silence on Friday (July 17) at the crash site of Boeing 777 of Malaysian airliner, which was shot down in Eastern Ukraine exactly one year ago.
    The OSCE Special Monitoring Mission to Ukraine on Friday called on all sides of the conflict in eastern Ukraine to withdraw weapons from the frontline to commemorate the victims of the MH17 disaster and all others that have been killed as a result of fighting.
    Speaking at a news conference in Kiev, deputy chief Monitor of the OSCE Special Monitoring Mission to Ukraine Alexander Hug said little had changed in eastern Ukraine over the last year.
    "What strikes me one year on is how little has changed. Ordinary people in Donbass, like the 298 on board MH17, continue to die and suffer," said Hug, adding he wanted all parties to "redouble their efforts to negotiate" with each other.
    OSCE monitors who visited the village of Hrabove, in Donetsk, on Friday went to the fields nearby where where twisted metal and body parts came crashing down on July 17 last year.
    A memorial gravestone has been placed near the site in memory of the 298 passengers and crew who lost their lives, with the words "To the memory of the dead - 298 innocent victims of civil war," written on it. Flowers and children's toys could be seen over the gravestone on Friday.
    Earlier in the day a church service was held at the site and residents joined a procession to a gravestone, where a Russian Orthodox priest and an imam said prayers.
    Rebel fighters seated on top of armoured personnel vehicles were positioned on the road near the MH17 crash site on Friday.
    Western governments believe that pro-Russian rebels shot the plane out of the sky with a Russian-supplied BUK missile. Britain and Ukraine marked the anniversary with new appeals for a tribunal to prosecute suspects.
    Russia denies responsibility and in turn has pointed the finger at Ukraine, whose forces are fighting pro-Russian separatist rebels in the region of eastern Ukraine where the plane crashed to earth.
    The differences over what happened are part of a standoff between Russia and the West over Moscow's role in the conflict in east Ukraine, in which more than 6,500 people have been killed since the separatist uprising began in April 2014.
    Moscow denies giving the rebels arms and soldiers. If a report from the Dutch Safety Board, due in October, concludes that rebels shot the plane down with a Russian-made missile, it would undermine Russia's denials and could pave the way to court cases and prosecutions.
  • Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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