![UKRAINE-RUSSIA-POLITICS-CRISIS-MALAYSIA Wreckage of the malaysian airliner carrying 295 people from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur after it crashed, in rebel-held east Ukraine July 17, 2014.](https://api.time.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/malaysia-air-plane.jpg?quality=85&w=2400)
Russian President Vladimir Putin called on the Ukrainian government and pro-Russian separatists to lay down arms Friday amid international pressure for a probe into the circumstances surrounding the loss of a passenger jet over eastern Ukraine Thursday.
Both Kiev and Moscow have accused one another of being responsible for shooting down the Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 Thursday, killing all 298 passengers on board the Boeing 777 passenger jet.
Putin’s call for a ceasefire comes as emergency crews have begun sifting through the wreckage while investigators search for answers in the crash. The area where the plane crashed, near the village of Grabovo in eastern Ukraine, is controlled by separatist rebels. Disaster responders have had difficulty gaining access to the crash site, with checkpoints dotting the road from the city of Donetsk to the location of the wreckage, the Guardian reports.
Responders have said two black boxes were recovered from the wreckage, but it remains unclear who is in possession of the boxes at present time.
More Must-Reads from TIME
- Eyewitness Accounts From the Trump Rally Shooting
- From 2022: How the Threat of Political Violence Is Transforming America
- ‘We’re Living in a Nightmare:’ Inside the Health Crisis of a Texas Bitcoin Town
- Remembering Shannen Doherty , the Quintessential Gen X Girl
- How Often Do You Really Need to Wash Your Sheets?
- Why Mail Theft Is on the Rise
- Welcome to the Noah Lyles Olympics
- Get Our Paris Olympics Newsletter in Your Inbox
Contact us at letters@time.com