A pro-Russian rebel touches the MH17 wreckage at the crash site of Malaysia Airlines Flight 17, near the village of Hrabove, eastern Ukraine, Tuesday, July 22, 2014. A team of Malaysian investigators visited the site along with members of the OSCE mission in Ukraine for the first time since the air crash last week. (AP Photo/Vadim Ghirda)

Parts of the Malaysia Airlines plane shot down over Ukraine were found sawed in half, USA Today reported.

According to the newspaper, international monitors, who had only recently gained access to the area, found that the cockpit of the plane had been breached with a saw. Until Monday, Russian-backed separatists had controlled the site.

It is unclear who damaged the plane or why.

Fergal Keane, a BBC correspondent, confirmed USA Today's report. Investigators told Keane that the plane had been hacked into with a diesel-powered saw. Keane said that the first-class area had been found damaged.

Many in the international community have accused separatists of gunning down the commercial plane. Both the separatists and the Kremlin have denied such allegations.

President Obama lashed out at Russia on Monday for blocking access to the crash site, asking, "What exactly are they trying to hide?”