A Malaysian airliner was shot down on Thursday near the Russian border, killing all 280 passengers and 15 crew members who were boarded on the plane.
Ukrainian officials blame pro-Russian Ukrainian rebel militants for the shooting, while the rebel groups have been pointing to Ukrainian forces. Both the rebel group and the Ukrainian military are denying involvement.
Gerashchenko, the adviser of Ukraine's Interior Minister, said that pro-Russian rebels shot down the aircraft with a surface-to-air missile called the BUK, which is "self-propelled, medium-range surface-to-air missile systems in the Soviet era and designed to engage cruise missiles, smart bombs, aircraft, and unmanned aerial vehicles. Modern versions can reach up to 80,000 feet," said a Telegraph report.
"They clearly thought that it was a military transport plane that they were shooting at. They were the ones who did this," he told the Wall Street Journal.
Reports say that the aircraft came down at Torez, which is 40 km (25 miles) from the Russian border. Ukrainian troops and pro-Russian rebels have had conflicts in this area previously as well. Torez is also 20 miles from Donetsk, an area known to be a stronghold for Russian separatists.
Pro-Russian rebels have been reported to have shot down other aircraft in this area previously.
More updates will be made as information is confirmed.
