A Pro-Russian militant stands on guard in Donetsk, Ukraine on Wednesday morning while foreign investigators discuss a route to the crash site of Malaysian flight MH17. Rebel forces have engaged in intense fighting with Ukraine government forces near the site in the past few days, delaying the investigation. Photo: Cui Meng/GT

European observers and foreign police officers were again prevented from reaching the MH17 crash site in eastern Ukraine Wednesday by shelling in the area. 

A convoy from the Organization of Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) Special Monitoring Mission to Ukraine departed Donetsk Wednesday morning in an attempt to find a safe route to the site. 

OSCE observers and police officers from the Netherlands and Australia have been trying to reach the site since Sunday, but fighting has  blocked their safe passage, fueling concerns that the truth behind the downing of MH17 may be distorted.

On Wednesday morning, after studying the map of the area with rebel, who are responsible for escorting the monitors, two OSCE armored vehicles departed the city.

The reconnaissance convoy took a route to the north, instead of directly going to the east, where the crash site of MH17 is located. They intended to avoid passing through Shakhtarsk and Torez, where heavy fighting is ongoing.

However, the convoy and press cars following them were stopped on the highway, some five kilometers from the town of Yasynuvata, to the northeast of Donetsk.

Rebel fighters asked reporters to step back, saying there was a danger of shellfire. Two pickup trucks passed, transporting fighters to the frontline and then returned within minutes empty, underlining the frontline was very close.

A civilian car later drove from the direction of Yasynuvata, with people crying for help to treat an injured person in the car.

After about half an hour of negotiating, the OSCE convoy turned around.

Michael Bociurkiw, spokesperson for the OSCE special monitoring mission, later told reporters that regarding the possibility of reaching the site, "there are still political decisions being made at certain levels." The current goal is to secure a route and make a general assessment of the security situation.

The Global Times learned from foreign police officers they were not going on Wednesday and had no idea whether they could make it in the coming days, given the route to the site has now become "a war zone." But they said they were "determined" to get there.

Yasynuvata is located between Donetsk and Gorlivka, where intense fighting is taking place.

Kiev believes that the capture of Gorlivka will pave the way for retaking Donetsk.