Russian Union Of Engineers Point To Ukraine Airforce As Responsible For MH17 Crash
A day after a generous benefactor offered $30 million reward money for information that would lead to identify who is responsible for the downing of Malaysia Airlines Flight MH17, the Russian Union of Engineers pointed blamed the crash on the Ukraine Force.
Read: Unidentified Benefactor Offers $30M Reward For Identity Of MH 17 Bombers
The accusation is part of a report issued by the union, which stressed that the east Ukraine rebels don't have a fighter jet and it led to the conclusion that the ill-fated Boeing 777 with 298 people on board was allegedly downed by the Ukrainian Air Force.
The report said the commercial aircraft, which left Amsterdam for Kuala Lumpur, was likely on auto pilot and flying 10,100 metres in Ukrainian airspace near Donetsk when a combat jet, likely a Su-25 or MiG-29, fired from a 30 mm caliber cannon. It resulted in multiple hits to the Malaysia Airlines jet which caused it to depressurise and killed instantly its crew.
Since the plane was on auto pilot, it continued to fly but started to lose altitude. The combat jet flew to the rear of MH17 and launched R-60 or R-73 missiles that caused loss of cabin pressure, destruction of the jet's control system, failure of auto pilot and loss of ability to maintain its level flight path, leading to a tailspin.
The report said the jet broke at a high altitude, resulting in the plane's wreckage scattered over an area more than 15 square kilometres.
It emphasised the self-proclaimed Donetsk Republic does not have a relevant combat jet capable of destroying an aerial target like a Boeing plane, while the report insisted that no combat jet of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation breached Ukrainian airspace. It added that Ukraine and third parties that made space surveillance confirm that.
Yuri Boychenko spokesman of the prosecutor general of Ukraine said an investigation is ongoing and its results would be announced at the end of the probe. But all parties to the agreement signed on Aug 6 among Ukraine, The Netherlands, Belgium and Australia must give their consent to the release of the conclusion.
However, Raul Ilargi Meijer from the Web site The Automatic Earth which published an article on the union's report, doubted if the signatories to the agreement would agree to let the public know "the true circumstances surrounding the crash."
Besides the union, Russian Defence Minister Sergie Shoigu also blamed Ukraine for the air tragedy, claiming, "The catastrophe happened in the airspace belonging to Ukraine, which bears full responsibility for what happened.
The UN Security Council will discuss on Friday the downing of MH 17 in response to a request from Russia over findings by the Dutch government that a large number of fragments hit and tore the aircraft apart. UN political chief Jeffrey Feltman has admitted being puzzled by Russia's strange request for a meeting of the council.
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