Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte has pulled the plug on the international mission to recover remains and debris from the crash site of Malaysian Airlines Flight MH17 because of fighting between Ukrainian troops and pro-Russian separatists in eastern Ukraine.  But Australian Air Chief Marshal Angus Houston says Australia will resume the search after security conditions improve.

Rutte said that increasing tension between Kiev and the Russian-backed rebels in the area has made it too unsafe to continue.  MH17 was downed on 17 July by what security officials believe was an anti-aircraft missile fired by separatists.  All 298 passengers and crew were killed, including 196 Dutch and 38 Australians.  Dozens of bodies have yet to be recovered.

Ukraine and NATO are concerned about Russia massing 20,000 troops on Ukraine’s eastern border.  Moscow says the troops are there for military exercises.  And the US newspaper Christian Science Monitor notes that Moscow had twice as many, around 40,000 troops, in the same area in March without sending them across into Ukraine.

But US Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel said the Russian presence was “a threat” and worried that an invasion was “a possibility.. absolutely.”

A Russian defense ministry spokesman dismissed the NATO accusations saying, “We’ve been hearing this for three months already.”

Meanwhile, Russian President Vladimir Putin is ordering his government to draw up a list of western food imports to be banned in retaliation for economic sanctions against Russia.  The items have not yet been announced, but some reports insist Russia will ban all imports of food from the United States and all fruit and vegetables from Europe.  Putin is already looking for alternative sources, with talks planned for this week with Argentina, Ecuador, and Brazil.