Ukraine says Russian officer pushed the button to shoot down MH17 ! Kiev, Ukraine (CNN) -- As bodies from Thursdays air disaster reached a facility Tuesday in Kharkiv, Ukraine, the Ukrainian government ratcheted up its accusations against Moscow, saying a Russian officer shot down Malaysia Airlines Flight 17. Vitaly Nayda, Ukraines director of informational security, made the accusation in an interview with CNN. The person was absolutely a Russian, he said. A Russian-trained, well-equipped, well-educated officer ... pushed that button deliberately. Ukrainian intelligence backs up the assertion, Nayda said. Moscow has denied claims that it pulled the trigger. And Russian Army Lt. Gen. Andrei Kartapolov suggested a Ukrainian jet fighter may have shot the plane down. MH17 black boxes handed over to Malaysia Obama: Truth about MH17 must be known Flight 17: Intel points to Russia Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko rejected that in an exclusive interview with CNN, saying that all Ukrainian aircraft were on the ground at the time. Nayda, speaking to CNN on Tuesday, referred to audio recordings captured by Ukrainian intelligence. We taped conversations between a Russian officer and his office in Moscow, Nayda said. We know for sure that several minutes before the missile was launched, there was a report to a Russian officer that the plane was coming, Nayda said. They knew the plane was coming with constant speed, in constant direction, and should have known it was not a fighter jet but a big civilian plane, he said. That recording is not among those that have been released. Vitaly Churkin, Russias ambassador to the United Nations, was asked Monday about different intercepted recordings, purportedly of pro-Russian rebels talking about shooting down a plane. Churkin suggested that if they did, it was an accident. According to them, the people from the east were saying that they shot down a military jet, he said. If they think they shot down a military jet, it was confusion. If it was confusion, it was not an act of terrorism. Pro-Russian rebels have repeatedly denied responsibility for the attack. This is an information war, rebel leader Alexander Borodai said. We dont have the technical ability to destroy this plane. Ukrainians are not interested in the truth.
Posted on: Tue, 22 Jul 2014 14:26:55 +0000
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