MH17 bodies arrive in Kharkiv

Separatists, who were accused of bringing down the passenger aircraft - possibly with help from Russia - released the train under international pressure Tuesday (22.7.), finally allowing the remains of many of the 298 crash victims to begin the long journey home from a storage facility in Donetsk (pictured). Come Wednesday, officials will send the first bodies to the Netherlands, which had 193 nationals aboard the doomed flight and has taken the lead in investigating the disaster.

Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte warned that identifying bodies could take months. On Monday, the separatists, handed over two black boxes that recorded activity and data of the flight, which went down in Eastern Ukraine last week.

Ukraine's government and separatists declared a ceasefire at the crash site. Fighting continued, however, as troops battled the secessionists for the eastern industrial heartland.

'Unconditional ceasefire'

On Tuesday, the Kremlin announced a conversation between Rutte and Russian President Vladimir Putin, had taken place. According to officials, they discussed the issue of "direct and full access of experts to the tragedy site," in reference to inspectors from the UN' International Civil Aviation Organization.

The separatists, meanwhile, announced a ceasefire within 10 kilometers (6 miles) of the impact site, hours after Ukraine's central government reported that it would halt all fighting in a broader zone.

"In this light, the need for immediate and unconditional ceasefire in the conflict zone was stressed again," the Kremlin announced.

The conversation happened as EU foreign ministers met in Brussels Tuesday to weigh new sanctions against Russia for its perceived support of the separatists. However, national interests risk dividing the bloc, with the United Kingdom's push for an arms embargo putting France - which has a 1.2 billion-euro ($1.6 billion) deal to supply warships to Russia - on the spot. France has announced that it will deliver a second helicopter carrier to Russia despite opposition from Britain, highlighting the difficulties in reaching an agreement on a response.

Elsewhere in Ukraine's east, fighting continued on Tuesday, with local authorities in the besieged cities of Donetsk and Luhansk reporting 10 civilians killed in 24 hours. The central government reported that it had retaken Severodonetsk, an industrial city of about 100,000 inhabitants around 120 kilometers from the separatist stronghold Donetsk.

Officials from nine former Eastern bloc NATO member states have begun meetings in Warsaw to discuss how to reinforce defense of the alliance's eastern flank against Russia.

mkg/rg (Reuters, AFP, dpa, AP)