Escalating violence in eastern Ukraine is hampering efforts to reach the crash site of downed Malaysian Airlines Flight 17. More residents fled to bomb shelters on Sunday as government forces clashed with rebel separatists in two major towns. At least eight civilians were killed. International monitors had reached a deal to visit the crash site in rebel-held territory, but the fighting has kept them away. Alexander Hug of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe’s monitoring mission said the fighting has sowed confusion.

Alexander Hug: “The situation has rapidly changed, and that’s normal in this conflict. The front lines were not very clear. It was a very blurred picture.”