Russia faced a barrage of criticism over the crash of a Malaysia Airlines plane that U.S. intelligence blames on a ground-to-air missile, as President Vladimir Putin on Friday called for an immediate cease-fire and an objective investigation of the disaster.
The plane carrying 283 passengers and 15 crew crashed in the battle-torn east Ukraine region of Donetsk, where pro-Russia rebels are occupying several towns in a three-month conflict.
[eap_ad_2]
The U.S. now believes that separatists were responsible for firing the missile, a Department of Defense official said. Officials in Washington also confirmed that the missile was fired from a Russian-made SA-11, or Buk, system, the official said.
The official cautioned on both findings that a U.S. probe isn’t complete and investigators and analysts are still sifting the circumstances surrounding and leading up to the firing of the missile.
Earlier, German Chancellor Angela Merkel said Flight 17 from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur appeared to have been shot down. She said that though it wasn’t clear who did so, Russia bore responsibility for events in Ukraine and Moscow “must do its part to calm the situation.” (MarketWatch)[eap_ad_3]