File photo: Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko
Ukrainian president Petro Poroshenko on Monday said he had ordered government forces to halt fire in a 40 kilometre (24-mile) area around the crash site of Malaysia Airlines flight MH17.
"I have given an order: immediately within a 40 kilometre radius around the disaster site Ukrainian troops must not conduct operations and must not open fire," Poroshenko was quoted as telling journalists by the Interfax Ukraine news agency.