Malaysia Airlines flight MH17 crash: Ukraine rebels deny 'shooting down' passenger plane on Russian border
Donetsk People's Republic PM says incident is a 'provocation by the Ukrainian military'
Your support helps us to tell the story
This election is still a dead heat, according to most polls. In a fight with such wafer-thin margins, we need reporters on the ground talking to the people Trump and Harris are courting. Your support allows us to keep sending journalists to the story.
The Independent is trusted by 27 million Americans from across the entire political spectrum every month. Unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock you out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. But quality journalism must still be paid for.
Help us keep bring these critical stories to light. Your support makes all the difference.
Ukrainian rebels have denied any involvement in the ‘shooting down’ of a Malaysian passenger aircraft near the Russian border in eastern Ukraine in which 295 people are reported to have been killed.
The commercial Boeing airliner was flying from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur when it disappeared from radar, sources told the Interfax news agency.
According to Anton Gerashenko, an adviser to Ukraine’s Interior Minister, Flight MH17 was flying at an altitude of 33,000 feet over eastern Ukraine when it was hit by a missile fired from a Buk launcher.
Donetsk People's Republic PM Aleksandr Boroday has rejected any aggression by the rebels, who are backed by Russia, and called the incident a “provocation by the Ukrainian military”.
“We confirm that the plane crashed not far from Donetsk,” Boroday said. “Representatives of Donetsk People's Republic have headed to the scene of the plane search.”
“Self-defense forces have no air-defence, which could target transport aircraft at that height,” he told Interfax.
The Ukraine president, Petro Poroshenko, said his forces had also had no involvement: “Armed Forces of Ukraine did not take action against any airborne targets”.
Russia’s military has also said that none of its military planes have been flying close to the Russia-Ukraine border on Thursday, RIA Novosti reported citing a military official.
The Interfax report said the plane came down 50 km (20 miles) short of entering Russian airspace. It “began to drop, afterwards it was found burning on the ground on Ukrainian territory,” the unnamed source said.
There were 280 passengers and 15 crew members on board the jet.
Malaysia Airlines posted a tweet on its official account confirming that it had “lost contact of MH17 from Amsterdam”.
“The last known position was over Ukrainian airspace. More details to follow,” it tweeted at 4.36pm GMT.
Subscribe to Independent Premium to bookmark this article
Want to bookmark your favourite articles and stories to read or reference later? Start your Independent Premium subscription today.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments