Ukraine Plane Crash – Flight MH17 shot down – 18th July 2014..
Flight MH17, a Boeing 777-200 with 298 people on board, was travelling from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur but was shot down in separatist-controlled eastern Ukraine, 40 kilometres from the Russian border, at about 12.15am 18th July 2014 Sydney time.
Malaysia Airlines confirmed that those on board included 28 Australians, as well as 154 Dutch, 43 Malaysians, 12 Indonesian (including one infant), nine from the UK, four German, four Beligum, three Filipinos, one Canadian, one New Zealander. The nationalities of the others on the plane were still unknown.
[important]This may be the THIRD aircraft shot at, or shot down, by Pro-Russia rebels in the last two days[/important]
STATEMENTS
- Pro-Russia rebels claimed responsibility for strikes on Wednesday 16th July 2014, on two Ukrainian Sukhoi-25 jets.
- Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko said his country’s armed forces did not take action against any airborne targets. “We do not exclude that this plane was shot down, and we stress that the armed forces of Ukraine did not take action against any airborne targets,” he said. “We are sure that those who are guilty in this tragedy will be held responsible.”
- Russian President Vladimir Putin said Ukraine bore responsibility for the downing of the plane, saying it would not have happened if Kiev had not resumed a military campaign against separatists.
- Ukraine separatist leader Alexander Borodai said: “Apparently, it’s a passenger airliner indeed, truly shot down by the Ukrainian Air Force.”
- The Ukrainian state security chief accused two Russian military intelligence officers of involvement in the Malaysian airline crash, basing his allegation on phone interception.
- Igor Strelkov, a leader of the Donetsk separatists, allegedly ordered the attack, thinking the flight was a Ukrainian military aircraft.
- U.S. Vice President Joe Biden said the plane crash was “not an accident,” adding that it was “blown out of the sky.”
- Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott said it was “highly probable” MH17 was “shot down” by what appeared to be a Russian-backed rebel missile.
Deleted social media posts from the rebels earlier in the day on Thursday mention that they had shot down an “An-26,” a twin-engine turboprop military transport used by the Ukrainian military.
A deleted tweet by the Donetsk People’s Republic showed a BUK-M1 system in the group’s possession.
Sources:
- http://www.news.com.au/travel/travel-updates/malaysia-airlines-plane-mh17-shot-down-on-ukrainerussia-border/story-fnizu68q-1226992889461
- http://www.cnbc.com/id/101838653#.
- http://thediplomat.com/2014/07/malaysian-airlines-flight-mh17-shot-down-over-donetsk-ukraine/
- http://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/ukraine-rebels-reclaim-village-russian-border-24580356
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