Ukrainian military tries to take control of MH17 site

The Ukrainian military has launched an operation in an effort to secure the crash site of Malaysia Airlines flight MH17, which was shot down by pro-Russian rebels who mistook it for a Ukrainian military transport.

The New York Times reports the new operation was launched mere hours after Malaysian authorities wrangled a new agreement from the separatists that would have granted international access to the site.

Members of the Dutch and Australian police have arrived in the region to secure the wreckage. However, fighting around the site has been too fierce for them to accomplish their mission, according Reuters.

Teams from the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe are accompanying the Dutch and Australians.

Reuters says the Dutch and Australians have only visited the site once, but need a guarantee that fighting in the area will abate long enough for them to do a proper investigation.

The Ukrainian military said that they needed to secure the site themselves to prevent the destruction of evidence related to the downing of MH17, according to the Times.

It is unclear how true this claim is, as it was feared that the rebels would have manipulated MH17's flight recorders, but an evaluation of them showed they had not been tampered with.

Reports from the area showed the Ukrainian military in control of a road leading to the site. The Times notes that it was unclear if the Ukrainians were in control of all or some of the 14 square miles within which the wreckage of MH17 is located.

While the true extent of the Ukrainian military's control is still somewhat unclear, rebel fighters in the region said that the Ukrainians were indeed advancing on the crash site.

Interestingly, the rebels also accused the Ukrainian military of wanting control of the site so it too could destroy evidence about what brought down MH17, according to the Times.