![UKRAINE-RUSSIA-CRISIS-MALAYSIA-AVIATION-CRASH A piece of debris of the fuselage at the crash site of the Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 near the village of Grabovo, east of Donetsk, on July 25, 2014.](https://api.time.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/452666764.jpg?quality=85&w=2400)
An Ukrainian official accused pro-Russian separatist fighters of lining the roads to the crash site of the downed Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 with land mines Wednesday, making it impossible for international investigators to access the scene of the crash.
The Associated Press reports that observers from the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe attempted to reach the crash site on Wednesday, only to be turned back after an encounter with rebels in the area.
The areas surrounding the crash site have been punctuated by heavy fighting, with at least 19 people killed in the past 24 hours, AP reports.
Col. Andriy Lysenko, spokesman for the Ukrainian National Security and Defense Council, said that rebels had installed heavy artillery in and around the 13.5 square mile crash site, according to the Wall Street Journal. Lysenko also accused rebels of mining the approaches to the area.
“This makes the work of the international experts impossible,” Lysenko said.
[AP]
More Must-Reads from TIME
- Eyewitness Accounts From the Trump Rally Shooting
- Politicians Condemn Trump Rally Shooting: ‘No Place for Political Violence in Our Democracy’
- 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?
- Welcome to the Noah Lyles Olympics
- Get Our Paris Olympics Newsletter in Your Inbox
Contact us at letters@time.com