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Global anger intensifies over downed Malaysia Airlines jet

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However, Russian President Vladimir Putin’s said Kiev bore full responsibility for the crash.

And the rest of the world thinks you're a lying opportunist who has just been caught with their pants down, figuratively speaking.

25 ( +29 / -4 )

There is a tape going round on the net believing to be pro-Russia separatists talking about taking down the plane. Real or not i don't know.

Personally, even though this is a terrible tragedy, I don't see any reason to believe this is some conspiracy. I think these separatists just launched a missile thinking it was a military airplane and made a huge mistake. So all that is left is find who did it and punish them severely. Which i'm afraid will not happen.

24 ( +25 / -1 )

The shooting down of civilian aircraft is extremely rare, and if proved the case, the downing of the MH17 would be one of the deadliest yet.

Extremely rare and and yet in nearly every case the Russians were involved!

However, Russian President Vladimir Putin’s said Kiev bore full responsibility for the crash.

My wife is half Russian and she doesn't share these views. In fact shes ashamed and disgusted about her heritage.

7 ( +13 / -6 )

papi, the russian terrorists in Ukraine are funded by Putin. Let me put it to you this way, he is the OBL behind the 9-11 hijackers. No different.

Once this is out in the open the WC needs to be taken away from Russia and hopefully Europe will be shamed into supporting Obama's sanctions on Russia. Putin is a horrible dictator who needs to be stopped from funding other terrorism and invasions.

6 ( +9 / -3 )

I sure hope the people with their fingers on the nukes in that region of the world are better trained and composed compared to the complete yahoo idiots that pushed the launch button on that surface to air missile that brought down the Malaysian 777-200ER which was flying at 10,000 metres killing all 298 aboard, may their souls rest in peace.

4 ( +4 / -0 )

The fault lies at the feet of the West, who by sitting on their hands and doing nothing have allowed Putin and Russia to perpetuate this conflict. Western opposition to Russia's annexation of Crimea and other parts of eastern Ukraine has been nil. Historically speaking, the main party in opposition to Russia has been America, but the Obama administration seems hopelessly inept at dealing with the crisis, and this has allowed it to grow and intensify.

The US already knows who fired the missile, as they recorded the tracking system radar, as well as the missile itself. They know the type of radar used for each type of missile, military planes can identify and track these missiles within a fraction of a second, and predict the time remaining to impact. Putin knows this too. What remains to be seen is how America and Europe will deal with this situation. Hopefully they will not react as weakly as they have have during the past few months. Weakness is the vacuum most abhorred by nature.

-21 ( +0 / -21 )

It's on Putin and his aggressive polices, he just does not care about killing anyone.

13 ( +15 / -2 )

This is, of course, not going to end well for Russia and the separatists, despite Kiev being ultimately responsible for this by setting up the entire mess of takeover which led to the separatist movement which led of months of combat that Kiev has no power to control yet does not wish to make peace over.

How about putting a little bit of blame on the Malaysian Airline, who flew over a known conflict area and got blown out of the sky for their trouble? The Buk's range is not that large - it is not a S-200.

-22 ( +2 / -24 )

Even though we called it an advance military system, the radar of S-11 Ground to Air Missile itself beyond thing that you would call advance by today standard.

Because it is an old technology which still adopts PESA (Passive Electronically Scanned Array, means it only uses a single frequency of wave to detect object so it cannot identify other frequencies used by different type of object unlike the more advance Active Electronically Scanned Aray system) object misidentified by the system itself because of its limitations rather than only untrained operators may caused this accident to happen. The real perpretator? I don't think he/she will be brought to justice. Too many politics surrounding this accident.........

1 ( +1 / -0 )

Don't understand why a commercial flight would take a flight path over an area where both sides are shooting at aircraft. Are commercial aircraft flying over Afghanistan? Seems like an unnecessary risk.

5 ( +8 / -3 )

AN interesting statement "The shooting down of civilian aircraft is extremely rare, and if proved the case, the downing of the MH17 would be one of the deadliest yet." I do not think that there is anyone that has any doubt that the plane was shot down.

I also think that Putin should be held accountable as it was his decision to invade and cause the troubles in the Ukraine and he should be treated as any other war criminal - he is proving to be no better than Hitler by allowing for this attack on innocents.

1 ( +2 / -1 )

It seems like some credible evidence has surfaced linking rebels and Russians to the downed jetliner.

http://news.yahoo.com/rebel-suggests-insurgents-shot-down-malaysia-plane-mistake-174750060.html

0 ( +1 / -1 )

This will effective end Malaysia Airlines. No one would want take their flights after these 2 incidents

1 ( +3 / -2 )

My wife is half Russian and she doesn't share these views. In fact shes ashamed and disgusted about her heritage.

I'm sad to hear that. :-(

3 ( +5 / -2 )

Whichever parties are responsible for this atrocious and utterly avoidable act needs to be brought to justice and made answerable. Malaysian Airlines bears responsibility too for flying over a conflict zone.

0 ( +1 / -1 )

The number of Dutch nationals perished in the crash has been raised to 174. The current list:

173 Dutch 44 Malaysians 27 Australains 12 Indonesians 9 Brits 4 Germans 4 Belgians 3 Filipinos 1 Canadian 1 New Zeelander 20 still unknown

May the ones responsible for this cowardly act brought to justice.

3 ( +3 / -0 )

Anger deepened around the world Friday with the United States demanding an “unimpeded” international inquiry after a Malaysian passenger jet was apparently shot down by a missile strike in separatist-controlled eastern Ukraine, killing all 298 on board

It was hit over territory controlled by Kiev

And fall down on territory controlled by rebels ...

If it was hit over Donbass (rebels territory)

It would have to fall on Russian territory

Hight about 10 000 m velocity about 900 km/h .

-9 ( +1 / -10 )

I'm sure Putin will get to the bottom of this.

1 ( +2 / -1 )

In short, this tragedy was a case of horrible mistaken identity. It appears the crew that launched the missile thought they were shooting at a Ukrainian Air Force An-26 military transport, but instead ended up shooting down a commercial jet airliner (we forget the current version of the 9K37 Buk SAM system is easily capable to shooting down an airplane flying at 10,000 meters altitude).

3 ( +5 / -2 )

Why are all the Putin apologists blaming the airline? Commercial airlines fly over conflict zones all the time.

0 ( +3 / -3 )

Anger deepened around the world Friday with the United States demanding an “unimpeded” international inquiry

Unlikely, since American news sources are saying the black boxes are already in Russia, and, reportedly, so is the missile launcher, and that the launcher will be destroyed.

And

but the Obama administration seems hopelessly inept at dealing with the crisis, and this has allowed it to grow and intensify

sangetsu, respectfully, that is simply not true. Obama has had to lead a reluctant Europe, especially Germany, at every step of this crisis, to impose tougher and tougher sanctions on Russia. And, if anything, this is what has emboldened Putin, because he knows Europe's energy and commercial ties to his country are so deep as to cause them to do nothing meaningful. But, since the majority of the unfortunate victims of this tragedy were from the Netherlands, things may change. One U.S. analyst liked this to the sinking of the Lusitania, which brought the U.S. into WWI. .

3 ( +5 / -2 )

Olegek,

It was hit over territory controlled by Kiev

Really? You do know missiles can be fired at an angle? Most SAMs have a 'slant range'

And fall down on territory controlled by rebels ...

Which is still substantial.

If it was hit over Donbass (rebels territory) It would have to fall on Russian territory Hight about 10 000 m velocity about 900 km/h .

But the plane broke up, changing from an aerodynamic shape - powered by jet engines, to debris spinning in the wind. Such debris slows quickly, and falls out of the sky - which is what many pictures on the ground show - large pieces, no furrows in the earth. A bit like the Pam Am Jumbo Ghadaffi blew up over Scotland.

3 ( +5 / -2 )

a lady in Australia lost two relatives in the Malaysian flight in March, and now today got the news that another two relatives were lost in the Malaysian plane shot down in Ukraine. http://www.abc.net.au/news/2014-07-18/mh17-queensland-deaths-family-hit-by-both-malaysian-crashes/5608524

1 ( +1 / -0 )

The number of confirmed Dutch nationals on flight MH17 has been raised to 189. The nationality of four passengers are yet unknown.

1 ( +1 / -0 )

President Vladimir Putin’s said Kiev bore full responsibility for the crash

Admitting guilt but shifting responsibility. Now that was clever. He thinks. The world knows by now what this man is up to.

4 ( +6 / -2 )

@avigator: Simple physics explains your query. After being hit by a missile the plan essentially fell out of the sky. The plane that hit the pentagon hit a solid concrete and steel building at a much higher speed. I can't believe people still buy into the conspiracy theory bs.

2 ( +3 / -1 )

Airlines are fault. Its. Ery easy to shootdown a plane when you own a missile battery. Just remember when a JMSDF shoot down an american jet. Conflict plagued zones are free for all fights. Everybody just want to shoot the other And mistakes happen.

0 ( +2 / -2 )

Star-viking It was hit over territory controlled by Kiev Really? You do know missiles can be fired at an angle? Most SAMs have a 'slant range'

Buk system has a max distance about 40 kilometers It's not a long range system

To use it against goal at 10 km with speed about 900 km/h you need not only

launcher & radar but also a warning system

So Kiev has such system - to say the truth Kiev controlled the flight

Kiev also has fihgters over south -east Ukraine

And Kiev send Boeing to this region

with Buks and fighters ready to fire

Kiev is responsible

It's easy

-6 ( +1 / -7 )

SaitamaRefugee Okay, sarcasm aside a plane is shot down less than 70km from the Russian border and it is STILL America's fault? Okay.

By government 100 % supported by US....

This gov killed thousands people in south east Ukraine using heavy artillery and aviation

and Nazi gangs of course !

Stil supported by US gov !

-4 ( +2 / -6 )

This was an approved airspace by the ICAO, and the plane was also given clearance by Ukraine and Russia. The question is, was the attack intentional? If it was in fact the separatists responsible, the blood is on Putin's hands.

1 ( +2 / -1 )

Yeah, yeah, yeah! Global anger? Sadly, for many, it is political grandstanding! Let's see how many of these world leaders who are publicly condemning the attack actually take affirmative action against the perps. Words are not actions!

1 ( +3 / -2 )

The plane crossed the entire length of Ukraine. I'm pretty confident the Ukrainian authorities were well aware of this flight. They wouldn't shoot it down. Even if they suspected it to be something else, it was flying away from Kiev and about to enter Russian airspace. Why shoot a plane which is about to exit your airspace?

Circumstantial evidence strongly points to this being an action of the Russian backed rebels in Eastern Ukraine. Hope they are brought to justice.

3 ( +4 / -1 )

I may have flown that same route out of Amsterdam last year. Pretty scary to think about being on a long flight and not knowing what particular foreign territory you may happen to be flying over. Kind of like the KAL007 flight, also involving the Russians. However, that flight was clearly identified as being a civilian airline by the Russian pilot before being shot out of the sky.

If the Russians have nothing to hide, then why hinder an immediate investigation? Are the black boxes really in Moscow? If so, why hide them?

It's truly a shame that these innocent victims had their lives cut so short in this ugly and messy affair. RIP

0 ( +1 / -1 )

I can't really get past the announcements by the rebels that they had just shot down a plane right when the plane crashed. Seems more compelling than debating angles.

3 ( +4 / -1 )

So whoever shot the plane down 'thought' it was a military plane but they obviously weren't sure or they wouldn't have shot it down. Someone knows who pressed the button to fire and it sounds like it was some trigger-happy idiot with a missile who didn't care about the possible risks. If it does turn out that this happened with Russian support, it is the coldblooded murder of 298 people, plain and simple, and Putin should be excluded from all upcoming summits and the G20 meeting in Australia in November. All these people killed for absolutely no reason and one report mentioned 80 youngsters being on board. It is disgraceful and disgusting in this day and age.

1 ( +3 / -2 )

Yup, serious oops moment for gung-ho idiot who pushed the button.

On a high after the series of Ukrainian planes they have shot down over the past month. Easy mistake, terrible tragedy.

-1 ( +0 / -1 )

There's no reason for Kiev to shoot down large planes - the separatists don't use large planes.

The separatists already shot down a transport military plane and a fighter plane in the last few days. They obviously have the capability and using that capability.

Occam's Razor: the separatists thought it's another Kiev plane and pulled the trigger. Simple. Even Vlad "there's no Russian troops in Crimea" Putin isn't saying that the separatists didn't do it - he's just saying that it's not their fault for pulling the trigger on the gun that killed the victims.

1 ( +1 / -0 )

lostrune2

Yep, Putin is using a variant of the NRA line, 'Guns don't kill people, people kill people' but in this case it's, 'Missiles don't kill people......' Yeah right.

0 ( +1 / -1 )

How many innocent men, women and children have Kiev killed in their bombing and shelling of towns? Where was all this uproar back then?

Text book example of cognitive dissonance.

-2 ( +1 / -3 )

@Fizzbit Completely incomparable. Maybe a few dozen or so died in the riots. Who was in charge of Ukraine then? A Russian backed politician.

Shooting down a plane is a deliberate act.

0 ( +2 / -2 )

kiyoshiMukaiJul. 18, 2014 - 11:19PM JST Its. Ery easy to shootdown a plane when you own a missile battery. Just remember when a JMSDF shoot down an >american jet.

OK. When did THIS happen?

0 ( +1 / -1 )

How many innocent men, women and children have Kiev killed in their bombing and shelling of towns? Where was all this uproar back then?

Text book example of cognitive dissonance.

Fizz -- what? Ukraine has EVERY RIGHT to control its own territory against these separatists, even Putin recognizes that. Or is that "cognitive dissonance" on your part?

0 ( +2 / -2 )

I think the Netherlands should call this a direct attack on their citizens and call the shots from here on out.

0 ( +1 / -1 )

Oligek,

Buk system has a max distance about 40 kilometers It's not a long range system

45 kms.

To use it against goal at 10 km with speed about 900 km/h you need not only launcher & radar but also a warning system.

The warning system is called the human eye. Airliners fly so high, and make such obvious contrails that they are visible from a great distance.

So Kiev has such system - to say the truth Kiev controlled the flight. Kiev also has fihgters over south -east Ukraine. And Kiev send Boeing to this region with Buks and fighters ready to fire Kiev is responsible.

The flight was in a ICAO designated air lane. The planes Kiev have over south-east Ukraine are not fighters, but ground attack craft. And, last, but not least - the rebels claimed to have shot down a second Ukrainian An-26 transport at the time the Malaysian airliner got blown out of the air. It was even reported on ITAR-TASS!

It's easy

True, denying reality is easy.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

There were a few cautious airlines avoiding flying over this conflict area where 3-4 military aircraft have been shot down is the past few weeks and many other ludicrous that keep this route to save time and money without passengers' consent.

Shame on them!

-1 ( +1 / -2 )

President Vladimir Putin’s said Kiev bore full responsibility for the crash. Well if that's true than Putin should bear the total responsibility for starting the whole mess in Crimea in the first place.

-1 ( +0 / -1 )

“The shooting down of civilian aircraft is extremely rare,“ how could it be extremely rare? Russia did it in 1983, South Korean airliner was shot down, 269 people perished. The US also shot down an Iranian airliner in 1988 killing 290 people. And, it happened twice in Ukraine already, maybe they are getting used to doing this sort of killing. Now, I wonder whether next time China would be added to the list, but maybe that would be extremely unlikely.

-1 ( +0 / -1 )

Fizz -- what? Ukraine has EVERY RIGHT to control its own territory against these separatists, even Putin recognizes that. Or is that "cognitive dissonance" on your part?

Please do remember that the so called Ukrainian government actually had an illegal start, something even NATO is very coy to avoid mentioning. In a recent statement, they said the Crimean separation was unconstitutional. They also suggest the preceding overthrow was very popular ... BUT they avoid saying that it was actually constitutional (come on you know that if they could say that and not lie they would have ... but they couldn't ... so they try to circumnavigate the issue). Says it all, really.

As for the fault of this whole thing, I have little doubt the Separatists pushed the button. But Kiev deserves the blame due to the above reasons, and the airline. Yes, planes do fly over conflict zones, but at their own risk. And at least the Taliban or Al Quda don't have Buk missiles and the Separatists do.

1 ( +2 / -1 )

Time for full sanctions for the Russian Federation a terrorist state.

-5 ( +0 / -5 )

The US already knows who fired the missile, as they recorded the tracking system radar, as well as the missile itself. They know the type of radar used for each type of missile, military planes can identify and track these missiles within a fraction of a second, and predict the time remaining to impact.

No, the U.S. doesn't know who fired the missile. Where the missile was launched from is Ukrainian territory mostly under separatist control. After the tragedy, there is reportedly a photo of a BUK mobile missile launcher crossing the Ukrainian/Russian border BACK into Russia. So was it Russians, or was it Separatists? The audio tapes seem to indicate it was separatists but obviously Russia is rapidly removing all evidence that they had provided BUK launchers to the separatists in the area. Then you have to ask, "Who trained the separatists to operate the BUK launchers?"

0 ( +1 / -1 )

But Kiev deserves the blame due to the above reasons, and the airline.

Kazuaki -- nonsense. First off, you don't really provide any "above reasons" other than your own speculation, and, second, you are just going to ignore the fact that the missile was Russian-made and could not possibly be launched without Russian support/training. What you are basically saying is that because Kiev has had the guts to stand up to the Russian-backed separatists to protect its sovereign rights, it is responsible for the careless act of the separatists. What kind of logic is that?

-2 ( +1 / -3 )

Fadamor Jul. 19, 2014 - 02:41AM JST Where the missile was launched from is Ukrainian territory mostly under separatist control.

But it is not clear whether the missile was launched from rebels in the separatist-controlled zone in Eastern Ukraine or directly from Russian territory. The U.S. is analyzing the trajectory of the missile to try to learn where the attack came from.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

There might be a simple explanation. The Russian mercenaries, having celebrated their downing of two Ukrainian air force planes, were ready for another triumph. They set their radar sights on an incoming plan which they assumed to be a Ukrainian military transport and shot it down. Within a few minutes, the separatist authorities and their Kremlin handlers knew they had shot down a civilian plane.

I doubt that the Russian public will be so enamored with Putin once they learn that his loyal people’s militias marauding in east Ukraine killed three hundred innocent people. With respect to Putin, first interpretation is that he controls Russia almost single handedly with his noted vertical of power. If so, he must be held personally responsible for what his agents did. The second interpretation is that Russia is falling apart as mercenaries move themselves and heavy military equipment at will within Russia and across its borders.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

Putin is a war criminal. He is the OBL of the Russian terrorists. Giving them money and arms. He is 100% responsible for this tragedy.

-2 ( +1 / -3 )

Hopefully the world is realizing you can't trust non-democracies at all. Only bald-faced liers would back Putin at this point. Hopefully the black box will be found which will further cement the case against Putin for people with brain cells.

0 ( +1 / -1 )

I think the Netherlands should call this a direct attack on their citizens and call the shots from here on out.

Malaysia owns the plane, so they should decide what happens to the plane and where the blackboxes would go, not Ukraine, not the separatists, not Russia.

The second interpretation is that Russia is falling apart as mercenaries move themselves and heavy military equipment at will within Russia and across its borders.

This is the not likely scenario. Russia is fighting its own separatists and has the capability to tightly control its borders around there. The border doesn't get porous unless Russia lets it so.

-1 ( +0 / -1 )

I doubt that the Russian public will be so enamored with Putin once they learn that his loyal people’s militias marauding in east Ukraine killed three hundred innocent people.

sfjp330 -- share the sentiment, but it will never happen. For one thing, Russian media will not dare actually tell the public what really happened. All they will hear is Putin and his generals blaming Ukraine. In fact it was reported today that one well--known Russian anchor resigned today because he was not going to tell any more lies. Second, most Russians support the rebels in Eastern Ukraine, because they believe ethnic Russians there have been subject to mis-treatment there at the hands of the Kiev government.

-2 ( +1 / -3 )

Responsibility goes to Russia. The Buk can fire different missiles. The new missiles can reach 25K or 82,000 ft. The missile that flies at Mach 3 doesn't have to hit the target. It's a radar control device with a fragmentation warhead. Probably somebody made a mistake to give the rebel such a missile. Planes still flies over "conflict zone" since such powerful weapons are not in the hands of the combatants, ie terrorists. Planes fly over Israel, Iraq, Syria, and Afghanistan. The ICAO can recommend not using an air route but until now, it wasn't an issue. Interestingly. MH17 was in communication with Russia air traffic control since they were about to go into Russian air space.

Now the question is what will Europe and J-gov do? Both have agreements with Russia for natural gas and petroleum. The German Chancellor squarely put the blame on Russia. But will they really hit Russia with real sanctions? So far all the sanctions on Russia is very light.

-1 ( +1 / -2 )

ka_chan Jul. 19, 2014 - 06:28AM JST Now the question is what will Europe and J-gov do? Both have agreements with Russia for natural gas and petroleum. The German Chancellor squarely put the blame on Russia. But will they really hit Russia with real sanctions? So far all the sanctions on Russia is very light.

Even with the new strict sanctions, Russia is entirely at liberty to borrow in any other currency it can manage to gain a loan in. Rubles, Yuan, Pounds Sterling, Vietnamese Dong, all are just entirely fine. And any non-U.S. financial or trading company or organisation is entirely at liberty to lend or invest equity into such a project, which means that it doesn’t sound like much of a problem, until you recall that oil is almost always traded in U.S. dollars. So Russia must borrow in non-dollars and thus opens itself up to the problem of having a currency mismatch that it cannot cover. That’s a big, big, risk. One possibility is that Russia and others will use this as a reason to try and expand the amount of oil that is traded not in dollars but in some other currency.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

A Spanish air controller confirms a conflict between the Ukrainian Ministry of Defense and the Ukrainian Ministry of the Interior intimating that the order concerning the downing of the aircraft came from the Ministry of the Interior, which is dominated by Svoboda and Right Sector(i.e. Right-wingers).

This Kiev air traffic controller is a citizen of Spain and was working in the Ukraine. He was taken off duty as a civil air-traffic controller along with other foreigners immediately after a Malaysia Airlines passenger aircraft was shot down over the Eastern Ukraine killing 295 passengers and crew on board.

He also said that the MH17 flight was escorted by Ukrainian fighter jets minutes before it was downed. It is worth noting that the presence of the Ukraine fighter jets reported by the Spanish air traffic controller was confirmed by eyewitness reports in the Donetsk region.

It is possible that these right wingers deliberately sent the plane over the region in hopes it would be shot at.

@ka_chan-Russian separatists confirm they do have a Buk, but it is not operational. We know the Ukrainians have such missiles as well.

-5 ( +0 / -5 )

The separatists already shot down a transport military plane and a fighter.

Yes, they have light MANPADS and they can easy shoot any identified low attitude air target at visual range. The mentioned transport military plane was downed during landing, when it was easy target. Rebels shoot down attack planes and helos which they can to identify, aim and shoot. Rebels need not an overcomplicated systems like BUK, to launch a powerful missile somewhere in high attitude, beyond visual range. It would be highly ineffective, pointless and stupid.

Responsibility goes to Russia.

Rubbish. Responsibility goes to your beloved Ukraine. Ask a Spanish air controller from Borispol Airport for confirmation.

-3 ( +0 / -3 )

nonsense. First off, you don't really provide any "above reasons" other than your own speculation,

The problem of the Constitutionality of the whole throwover in the first place is serious enough that you could even find Western media pointing it out - there was a majority of parliamentarians supporting the move, but not enough to meet the Constitution's criteria is IIRC the main problem. There is a reason for the supermajority requirements in Constitutions - to minimize the chance of a short term change in the balance of power (like what Hitler arranged for the Reichsweir or whatever the German parliament was called then) from causing precipitious changes like overthrowing a democratically elected President which you might remember President Yanukyovich actually was (the West tends to "forget" about this while promoting the legitimacy of new President P).

The riots which led up to the throwover have also exceeded the limits of "peaceful protest" that would have been tolerated in Western countries.

and, second, you are just going to ignore the fact that the missile was Russian-made and could not possibly be launched without Russian support/training. What you are basically saying is that because Kiev has had the guts to stand up to the Russian-backed separatists to protect its sovereign rights, it is responsible for the careless act of the separatists. What kind of logic is that?

Buk missiles are not new systems. They are there since the 1980s, in Soviet times when Ukraine was a Soviet republic.

If anything, the underdogs in this whole story is the separatists. The regime in Kiev has the full-backing of the West, which is one of the big reasons peace is not taking place.

Now, certainly, the separatists were careless and caused a result they surely did not want. However, if you backtrace the series of events, it is obvious if a stupid bunch in Kiev had not overthrown Yanukyovich (who had not really made a strategic decision so poor he deserves immediate removal before the legally-natural end of his term), Ukraine would still have been in oh, one-piece? Or if they accepted the Crimean vote (it does fit under the principle of self-determination) and just cut the Crimea loose. Or if they just actually agreed to demands for more federalism. If any of these things took place, this incident could have been avoided by a million miles.

So, who is really responsible?

-1 ( +1 / -2 )

@Fizzbit Completely incomparable. Maybe a few dozen or so died in the riots. Who was in charge of Ukraine then? A Russian backed politician.

Just a bald faced lie.

-3 ( +0 / -3 )

Star-vikingJ Buk system has a max distance about 40 kilometers It's not a long range system 45 kms.

Buk M1 ( Ukrain mainly has these systems ) 35 km

Anyway its not a long distance at speed of goal 900 km/h - less than 6 min

To use it against goal at 10 km with speed about 900 km/h you need not only launcher & radar but also a warning system. The warning system is called the human eye. Airliners fly so high, and make such obvious contrails that they are visible from a great distance.

If the sky is clear and if you know that liner should come....

But if you have "government forces" constantly firing shells at area - you have other problems ...

South -east - under permanent attacks of Kiev " government"

Punitive Corps destroy burn and murder all that it can ....

Rebels have OTHER problems.....than put down neutral liner ...

They must to protect their homes and families

What they can receive as a result of this crash ?

Liner falling at their home ?

The flight was in a ICAO designated air lane.

Surprise ! Usually this plane fly more to the south

and 2000 feet higher

But THIS time Ukrainian air traffic controller gently ask to change route....

The planes Kiev have over south-east Ukraine are not fighters, but ground attack craft.

1 Ground attack craft ? To provide democracy and peace ?

2 Kiev consentrate whole military aviation on south east including fighters...

And, last, but not least - the rebels claimed to have shot down a second Ukrainian An-26 transport at the time the Malaysian airliner got blown out of the air. It was even reported on ITAR-TASS!

One more urban myth ?

-4 ( +0 / -4 )

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