No survivors as Malaysian plane crashes in Ukraine

No survivors as Malaysian plane crashes in Ukraine

The Ukrainian authorities referred to the accident as "a terrorist act" and accused the pro-Russian forces of bringing down the plane "using the anti-aircraft system BUK which Russia gave them."

But the pro-Russian forces said they did not have missiles that would reach a plane at that altitude, and instead accused the Ukrainian army. They also announced that the "black box" had been recovered, and offered a temporary truce in order to enable the crash site to be investigated.

Talks are ongoing between the pro-Russian forces and the government of Kiev to allow international organizations access to the site, the premier self-proclaimed People's Republic of Donetsk, Aleksandr Boraday, has confirmed.

Russian President Vladimir Putin said that the Ukrainian authorities were responsible for the crash, saying the tragedy would not have happened had Kiev not launched a military offensive in the east of the country.

In the meantime, the United Kingdom has requested an urgent meeting of the Security Council of the United Nations to address the crisis in Ukraine.

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said that "there is a clear need for a full and transparent international investigation" into the crash of the Malaysian aircraft, and a session of the council was called for Friday.

World leaders have evaluated this event as shocking and called for an international investigation into the causes of the accident.

U.S. President Barack Obama said that the fall of the Malaysian passenger plane in eastern Ukraine was a terrible tragedy, adding that U.S. officials are trying to establish whether any U.S. citizens were aboard.

Obama said that the U.S. will provide "all necessary assistance in the investigation" which his deputy Joseph Biden repeated in a telephone conversation with Ukraine President Petro Poroshenko.

According to the Kremlin, the presidents of Russia and the United States discussed the accident by telephone. Putin also sent condolences to Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak.

EU High Representative Catherine Ashton called for an international investigation into the crash, saying that the circumstances under which it occurred must be clarified without delay.