A Malaysia Airlines Boeing 777 crashed near the Ukraine-Russia border, killing 295 people, including 280 passengers and 15 crew members. The news, released by the Russian news agency Interfax, was confirmed by the Malaysian airline.
The flight was en route from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur and disappeared from radar at 15 pm while traveling 15 kilometers from Donetsk, near areas where fighting is underway between the Ukrainian army and pro-Russian rebels.
While waiting for official press releases, the first rumors about the causes of the disaster are already spreading. According to Interfax, the plane was shot down by a Buk surface-to-air missile, a technology developed by the Soviet Union and now owned by Russia.
This detail was confirmed by an adviser to the Ukrainian interior minister, who accused pro-Russian separatists of being responsible for the tragedy. The leader of the rebels in eastern Ukraine, Alexander Borodai, leveled the same accusation in Kiev.
Ukrainian President Poroshenko specified that his soldiers are not involved and immediately launched an investigation, also strongly requested by the Malaysian premier, Najib Razak.
Moscow denies any involvement, but according to a source in the Ukrainian Defense Ministry the separatists mistakenly hit the Malaysia Airlines plane in an attempt to hit a Ukrainian transport plane that had been reported to them by the Russian anti-aircraft defense forces. Not far away, in fact, an Iliushin 76 was in flight, with provisions for the soldiers of Kiev.
Last March another Boeing 777 of the same Malaysia Airlines went missing in the Indian Ocean while flying from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing.
