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Top Ukraine official demands Russia repatriates 'terrorist' leaders

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pavlo-klimkin-foto-ap-1404994715-531941Ukraine's Foreign Affairs Minister Pavlo Klimkin (pictured) has slammed the "Russian-backed terrorists" operating in Eastern Ukraine.

Speaking at a special meeting of the European Parliament's Foreign Affairs Committee, he said: "We are dealing with Russian-backed terrorists and experts in terrorism. Russia is constantly shelling Ukraine."

In a speech, Klimkin demanded that Russia repatriate all of the "terrorist" leaders operating in Ukraine, saying that they were all Russian, and all former agents of the Russian secret service or special forces.

"Then we can talk to the real residents of Donbass," he went on to say.

He told MEPs: "We need clear political and economic support from the EU for Ukraine and the people of Donbass.

"The EU should beef up its support on the ground, including support from other agencies to supplement the OSCE who are already present."

"The infrastructure of Donbass has been deliberately sabotaged by Russia," he added. "The EU and Ukraine together must get across the message to the citizens of Donbass that EU integration is all about rebuilding the infrastructure - the gas, the electricity, water and transportation."

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The foreign minister spoke after the meeting held a minute's silence to honour the memory of the victims of MH17 Malaysian air crash and their families. The rebels are widely accused of shooting it down.

"It is our responsibility to reshape and redefine our strategy, making it clear that Ukraine is a reliable partner for the EU, that we are committees to implementation of the Association Agreement, and the reforms needed in the spheres of judicial reform and the rule of law," he told the meeting.

The US, meanwhile, says it has evidence that Russia has fired artillery across the border targeting Ukrainian military positions.

Russia also intends "to deliver heavier and more powerful multiple rocket launchers" to pro-Russian separatists in Ukraine, the state department said.

Russia has frequently denied sending any rocket launchers into Ukraine.

Multinational efforts to find the cause of the crash are under way, led by the Netherlands which lost 193 of its citizens. All 298 people on board the flight died in the crash.

Elsewhere,French MEP Jean-Luc Schaffhauser has stressed the need to improve the quality of communications about EU-Russia and EU-Ukraine affairs. He was speaking in Brussels at an event organised by the Academie Europeenn, a Strasbourg-based NGO.

The NGO has launched a programme of constructive European dialogue with neighbouring non-EU states. The launch focused on the crisis in Ukraine and the need to establish a "more effective" dialogue so that Parliamentarians could enjoy a balance of information.

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