Two reports of the downing of a plane suspected to be Malaysian Air MH17 have been published by Russian news network LifeNews. The two television reports were aired before and after the identity of the Malaysian passenger plane was known, and reported conflicting testimonies by pro-Russian separatists active in Donetsk about responsibility for a plane crash near Torez, Donetsk that took place July 17.
“Insurgents have reported a downed another Ukrainian military cargo aircraft,” the newscaster reported in the earlier broadcast. “The plane was flying over the city of Torez in the self-proclaimed Donetsk Republic at approximately 5 pm Moscow time . The AN-26 was flying over the city and was hit by a missile, there was an explosion, and the plane fell, with black smoke visible.”
The reporter added that the location of Torez was near Snezhnoe and Saur-Mogila Hill–territories controlled by the rebels.
This report accompanied social media posts by pro-Russian separatists, such as a post purportedly by militant leader Strelkov stated, “Near Torez we just downed an AN-26 plane. It’s lying near Progress Mine. We warned them–don’t fly in our sky.” The post accompanied the same picture presented in the LifeNews broadcast.
After the identity of the Malaysian passenger plane was reported, the post was removed and claimed to have been a fake.
The rebels later published statements that they did not have the equipment to down the plane, although the rebels have already downed several Ukrainian military planes with surface-to-air missiles, and had made statements that they would protect the sky over Donetsk with highly sophisticated surface-to-air Buk missile systems.
The rebels asserted that the Malaysian jet was downed by the Ukrainian air force. The LifeNews reporter also noted that “according to some data, the plane was followed by a UA air force plane,” and that, according to Russian intelligence, the Ukrainian military had transported Buk systems to the area.
Russian News Channel Airs Conflicting Before and After Reports of Suspected Downing of Malaysian Air MH17
By Day Blakely Donaldson