Separatists mistaken MH17 for military aircraft
A Malaysia Airlines passenger jet crashed Thursday after apparently being struck by a missile over an area of eastern Ukraine where government forces have been battling pro-Russia separatists. There were no survivors.
Ukrainian officials accused the separatists of downing the plane with a missile from a Soviet-era anti-aircraft system and vowed to find those responsible, while leaders of the self-declared Donetsk Peoples Republic, the region where the plane fell, denied any involvement. A social network post by a separatist commander, however, suggested that his men may have mistaken the plane for a Ukrainian military aircraft.
In Washington, a U.S. official said that “all indications are the aircraft was shot down by a surface-to-air missile.” The official, who requested anonymity because of the sensitivity of the issue, said that further analysis would be required before a final determination was made.
“Where that missile came from is an intense point of focus, and we are looking at all the information we have,” the official said, adding that the United States “has a considerable number of intelligence assets focused on that area.” Those assets could include satellites that can track rocket launches.
If confirmed that a missile downed the aircraft, the crash likely would mark a turning point in the conflict between Kiev and pro-Russia rebels that has claimed hundreds of lives since a Moscow-backed government was driven from power by pro-Western protesters in February.
Russian President Vladimir Putin might have to distance himself _ at least in the short term _ from the rebels if concrete proof emerges that they shot down the plane. “Even he cannot condone the targeting of a commercial airliner,” said Stephen Long, a security expert at Richmond University in Virginia.
In his first extensive comments on the crash, however, Putin suggested the blame lay with the government in Kiev. “Of course, the state over whose territory it happened is responsible for this terrible tragedy,” Putin told a meeting of top Kremlin aides, according to a transcript released by his office.
Videos and photographs posted on English- and Russian-language social media showed a huge column of smoke billowing from the crash site near the town of Snizhne, flaming wreckage, bodies, luggage and debris bearing the red and white colors of Malaysia Airlines.
Malaysia Airlines said the flight was bound from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur. U.S. officials said they were trying to determine if any Americans had been on board the Boeing 777-200ER.
To back up its charge of rebel responsibility, the Ukrainian government posted on YouTube a recording of what it said was an intercepted telephone call, in which a rebel commander tells a Russian military intelligence officer that his men had shot down a passenger jet.
In the recording, the pro-Russia separatist, identified as Igor Bezler, purportedly informs the Russian, identified as Col. Vasily Geranin, that his men at the scene found “lots of bodies. civilian stuff, aircraft seats, medical supplies, towels, toilet paper” and the passport of an Indonesian student.
President Barack Obama, addressing an audience in Wilmington, Del., called the crash a “tragedy.” Vice President Joe Biden, speaking to a conference in Detroit, said the aircraft was apparently shot down.
“I say apparently because we don’t have all the details,” he said.
Biden, who conferred before his appearance by telephone with Obama and Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko, said that a team of U.S. experts was being sent at the Ukrainian government’s request to help “determine what happened.” Obama also spoke to Poroshenko and Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak.
Putin also offered help. “I already gave authority to the military departments to provide all necessary assistance in the investigation of this crime,” he said.
The Ukrainian government, which opened its own investigation, is unlikely to accept Putin’s offer except to demand the return of the black box if, as the German website Der Spiegel reported, Russian separatists had found the flight data recorder and handed it to Russian authorities. Other news reports said the black box had not been recovered.
