Ukrainian Military Fighter Jets Shot Down In Eastern Part Of Country

KYIV, July 23 (Reuters) – Kyiv said two of its fighter jets were shot down over the rebel-held territory in eastern Ukraine on Wednesday, and the missiles that brought them down might have been fired from Russia.

A spokesman for Ukraine’s military operations said the planes were shot down near Savur Mogila, not far from where a Malaysian airliner was brought down last week, killing all 298 passengers on board.

Ukraine’s Security Council said the military jets were hit at the altitude of 5,200 meters by missiles that, according to preliminary information, were launched from Russia.

“They were shot down very professionally. The terrorists do not have such professionals,” saidAndriy Lysenko, the council’s spokesman, referring to pro-Russian rebels fighting the government forces in eastern Ukraine.

The rebels said they shot down the plane themselves.

Fierce fighting raged on Wednesday near the rebels’ two main centers in Donetsk and nearby Luhansk, where they have been pushed back in recent days by Ukrainian government forces, who have regained control of villages and suburbs around the cities.

A train from Luhansk brought many people fleeing the violence to Kyiv early on Wednesday afternoon.

“It’s impossible to live there right now. Fights are going on, apartment buildings are being destroyed, people are being killed,” said Galina Berezina, an elderly resident of Luhansk. “Why else do you think I’d flee my own home at my age?”

Kyiv said the separatists were leaving their positions on the outskirts of Donetsk on Wednesday and retreating towards the city center.

Residents said the rebels, who rose up in April to demand independence from Kyiv in the mainly Russian-speaking east, had dug trenches in downtown Donetsk outside the main university, where they have been living in student dormitories.

“In Donetsk, rebels abandoned their positions en masse and went towards the central part of the city,” according to a statement from the headquarters of what Kyiv calls its “anti-terrorist operation”.

“It cannot be ruled out that the appearance of such movements could suggest the spread of panic and attempts to leave the place of warfare.”

Residents said they had heard shelling during the night and a shell struck a chemical plant in the city, causing a fire.

Rebels said two journalists had been missing in Donetsk since late on Tuesday. The separatist military commander, Igor Strelkov, a Muscovite, issued an order banning media from operating in combat areas.

Local health officials said 432 people had been killed and 1,015 wounded since hostilities began in the Donetsk region. The uprising started when a Ukrainian president sympathetic toMoscow was forced out of office and Russia then annexed the Crimea region.

Both Kyiv and the West accuse Russia of supporting the separatist rebellion, including by providing fighters, arms and financing. Moscow denies the charges. (Additional reporting by Elizabeth Piper; Editing by Timothy Heritage and Larry King)

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As The Wall Street Journal reports, Ukraine’s government is putting blame for the attack on Russia, with security spokesman Col. Andriy Lyshenko stating that “according to our preliminary information, they [the planes] were downed from abroad.”

This incident comes a week after another one of Ukraine’s jets was shot down on July 17, following which Col. Lyshenko also alleged Russian involvement.

A separatist commander in Eastern Ukraine confirmed to Reuters that rebels had access to the type of anti-aircraft missiles that is believed to have been used to down Malaysia Airlines flight 17. Alexander Khodakovsky also told the news service that the system may have been brought in from Russia, and may already have crossed the border back into Russia.

“I knew that a BUK came from Luhansk. At the time I was told that a BUK from Luhansk was coming under the flag of the LNR,” he said, referring to the Luhansk People’s Republic, the main rebel group operating in Luhansk, one of two rebel provinces along with Donetsk, the province where the crash took place.

“That BUK I know about. I heard about it. I think they sent it back. Because I found out about it at exactly the moment that I found out that this tragedy had taken place. They probably sent it back in order to remove proof of its presence,” Khodakovsky told Reuters on Tuesday.

Read the full story here.

German politicians called on the international soccer association FIFA to move the 2018 World Cup tournament from Russia, Reuters reports. But the Dutch soccer association (KNVB) said it would prefer to postpone the discussion for now.

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“The association is well aware that a future World Cup in Russia will stir a lot of emotion among Soccer lovers and the next of kin in the Netherlands,” the KNVB said.

“Standing still to remember our enormous loss is now the priority. The KNVB believes it would be more appropriate to hold the discussion over the future World Cup in Russia at a later time once the investigation into the disaster is completed.”

Reuters reports:

The Dutch Safety Board said on Wednesday it had taken charge of an international investigation into the crash last week in Ukraine of a Malaysian airliner in which 298 people died, the majority from the Netherlands.

In a statement, the authority said it would coordinate a team of 24 investigators from Ukraine, Malaysia, Germany, the United States, the United Kingdom and Russia and the International Civil Aviation Organization. It said four Dutch investigators were operating in Ukraine.

The authority said it would look at whether the Boeing 777’s black box flight data recorders had been tampered with. It said it would also conduct separate investigations into the decision-making processes behind flight routes and the availability of passenger lists.

University of California Political scientist Heidi Hardt analyzes in a Washington Post article what NATO’s options are in responding to the MH17 crash. “The 28-member-state transatlantic security organization represents one of the few international actors with the capabilities and potential political will to act,” she writes.

The Guardian reports that the mayor of a Dutch town publicly called for Putin’s daughter to be expelled from the Netherlands. Maria Putin is believed to live in Voorschoten in the Netherlands with her Dutch boyfriend.

Mayor Pieter Broertjes made the remarks during a radio interview on Wednesday. He later apologized for his comments by saying they were “not wise.”

Read the full story here.

BBC foreign correspondent Matthew Price reports:

The Associated Press gives a heartbreaking account of the last hours of several passengers of MH17 before they boarded the plane.

From the story:

In a bedroom in a townhouse near Amsterdam, Miguel Panduwinata reached out for his mother. “Mama, may I hug you?”

Samira Calehr wrapped her arms around her 11-year-old son, who’d been oddly agitated for days, peppering her with questions about death, about his soul, about God. The next morning, she would drop Miguel and his big brother Shaka at the airport so they could catch Malaysia Airlines Flight 17, the first leg of their journey to Bali to visit their grandmother.

Read the full report here.

ukraine
Ukrainian soldiers carry a coffin with the remains of a victim of the Malaysia Airlines flight MH17 crash to a military plane during a ceremony at the airport of Kharkiv, Ukraine, on July 23, 2014. (GENYA SAVILOV/AFP/Getty Images)

The Associated Press reports:

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Two Ukrainian military fighter jets have been shot down in the east, according to the country’s Defense Ministry.

The Sukhoi-25 fighters were shot down 1:30 p.m. local time Wednesday over an area called Savur Mogila.

Defense Ministry spokesman Oleksiy Dmitrashkovsky says the planes may have been carrying up to two crew members each.

The first plane carrying the remains of the passengers aboard flight MH17 will arrive in the Netherlands later today. This is how some organizations and businesses across the Netherlands will mark the moment.

The Dutch newspaper NRC Handelsblad reports:

– Shops at the international airport of Schiphol will stop playing music. The terminal will observe a minute of silence at 4 pm local time.

  • KLM, as well as large corporations like Shell, Philips and Randstad will also observe a minute of silence.
  • Movies in certain theaters will be stopped at the time of the plane’s arrival. Other movies will start later.
  • Several amusement parks will halt all music and attractions around 4 pm.
  • Soccer teams were asked to observer a minute of silence ahead of games.

    Sky News reports that pro-Russian rebels in Eastern Ukraine planned to sabotage the MH17 investigation by scattering parts of other planes at the crash site:

    ​

    ​UK intelligence officials have gathered evidence that indicates pro-Russian separatists discussed removing victims’ remains from the fields of Grabavo, where the plane was shot down.

    Sky sources in Whitehall added that the rebels also considered sending the black boxes to Moscow.​

    Read more at Sky News.

    The black box flight recorders from Malaysian Airlines Flight 17 have arrived in Britain, Reuters reported.

    The Boeing 777 was reportedly shot out of the sky over eastern Ukraine on July 17. Colonel Mohamed Sakri of Malaysian National Security Council said the black boxes are a bit damaged, but still intact.

    For more, click here.

    The king and queen of the Netherlands plan to hold a day of mourning for the victims of Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 on Wednesday.

    According to The Scotsman, King Willem-Alexander and Queen Maxima will be in Eindhoven to meet with the victims’ relatives and to participate in a nationwide minute of silence.

    Click here for more.

    A senior U.S. administration official said Tuesday that intelligence resources have tracked the “specific missile” used in striking the plane. The official also added that, although they don’t know who was operating the system on the day of the attack, evidence suggested Russia was providing arms and training which “adds up to a picture that implicates Russia.”

    Read the full story here.

    In a piece published on Tuesday, The Wall Street Journal details the evidence presented by U.S. intelligence officials about the downing of flight MH17. The newspaper notes that U.S. intelligence detected a surface-to-air missile launch at the time the Malaysian airliner was hit and established that there has been a growing flow of weapons from Russia to separatists over the last month. U.S. investigators also say they believe Russians have provided rebels with training on antiaircraft weapons. In addition, separatists are known to have downed more than a dozen aircraft during the conflict.

    There is a “solid case it was an SA-11 fired from Eastern Ukraine under conditions created by Russia,” a top U.S. intelligence official said, according to WSJ.

    Read the full report here.

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