MOSCOW, July 18 (RIA Novosti) - Independence supporters forces in eastern Ukraine will continue fighting in all areas except for the site of the Malaysian plane crash site, a militia representative told RIA Novosti on Friday, citing commander Igor Strelkov.
"A large enemy group has been surrounded in the south of the Donetsk Region. It would be unreasonable to stop the military action against the surrounded group, "one of Strelkov's deputies said.
A Malaysia Airlines Boeing-777 flying from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur crashed near the town of Torez in the Donetsk Region on Thursday, causing death of all the 283 passengers and 15 crew members on board.
Strelkov assured that the experts, working at the accident site, would be safe.
"The site of the Boeing crash is deep in the base of the Donetsk self-defense forces, and no 'humanitarian truce' or 'corridor' is required for the investigation of the causes of the tragedy - the commission can freely go there and examine the crash site. No one will interfere with it," the source said, citing Strelkov.
The self-defense forces took over Marinovka and surrounded an 800-person special forces group. There were initially 5,000 military men in the group, but the majority managed to escape or were killed, or taken captive.
Since mid-April, Kiev authorities have been conducting a special military operation in eastern Ukraine to suppress the independence movement. More than 450 civilians have died in the self-proclaimed Donetsk and Luhansk republics over the past few months as a result of the conflict.
Moscow has repeatedly called on Kiev to immediately stop the violence and to resolve the conflict through peaceful dialogue.
