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Ukraine closes airspace over conflict zone

A screen showing arrival details of Malaysia Airlines flight MH17 (2nd from top) is seen at Kuala Lumpur International Airport in Sepang July 18, 2014. REUTERS/Samsul Said

MOSCOW (Reuters) - Ukraine closed the airspace over eastern regions where it is carrying out a security operation against pro-Russian separatists, the country's infrastructure ministry said a day after 298 people died in a plane crash near the Russian border. The ministry said on its web site that the airspace was completely closed over the eastern Donetsk and Luhansk regions where fighting has been raging and also partially prohibited flights above the neighbouring Kharkiv region. Russian airlines have also limited their flights to Ukraine after the incident. (Reporting by Gabriela Baczynska and Vladimir Soldatkin)