Overnight fighting in eastern Ukraine kept police officials from reaching the area where the Malaysian flight MH17 crashed, officials said on Monday, according to The Associated Press.
Western leaders say rebels almost certainly shot the airliner down by mistake with a Russian-supplied surface-to-air missile. Russia accuses Kiev of responsibility, the AP reported.
Kiev said on Monday its troops recaptured Savur Mogila, a strategic piece of high ground about 20 miles from where the Malaysia Airlines Boeing hit the ground on July 17, according to the AP.
Experts are due to renew their efforts on Monday to reach the crash site, still in rebel-held territory, the AP reported.
Roadblocks between the city of Donetsk and the crash site are variously controlled by Ukrainian army or rebel forces, according to the AP.
The rival sides accused each other of impeding access to the site on Sunday, with Kiev saying it was not engaged within a 12-mile no-fight zone and rebels accusing the army of trying to destroy evidence on the ground, the AP reported.
In Kiev, Australian Foreign Minister Julie Bishop said she would discuss access with Ukrainian authorities, according to the AP.
"We'll be seeking assurances that any military action doesn't compromise our humanitarian mission," Bishop told a news conference, adding she had information on fighting raging within the no-fight zone the day before, the AP reported.
Bishop also said Australia, which lost 28 citizens in the crash, hoped Russia would use its influence on the rebels to help allow wider access to the site so that investigators can determine who was behind the downing of the plane, according to the AP.
In Donetsk, local officials said fighting went on around various city districts overnight and artillery fire damaged several residential blocks and houses. Power lines and a gas pipeline were also hit, they said, the AP reported.
Ukraine's emergency service said more than 56,000 people fled the violence in two eastern regions since Kiev started what it calls an "anti-terrorist" operation against the rebels there three months ago, according to the AP.
