Russia trained, equipped rebels who shot down MH17: US

Washington: Senior US intelligence officialssaid Russia trained and equipped separatists responsible forthe shooting down of MH17 with a surface-to-air missile overUkraine, but noted that the rebels may have targeted the planepresuming it to be a Ukrainian military jet.

The officials released some of the sensitive intelligenceinformations, including satellite images, to a select group of reporters yesterday claiming them to be evidences that Russiahad trained and equipped rebels responsible for the attack,The Washington Post reported.

The United States and Ukraine have blamed Moscow andRussia-backed separatists for the tragic incident that killedall 298 people on board Malaysia Airline MH17.Russia has denied its direct involvement.

According to the daily, intelligence officials citedsensors that traced the path of the missile, shrapnel markings on the downed aircraft, voice-print analysis of separatistsclaiming credit for the strike, and a flood of photos and other data from social-media sites.The officials ruled out the possibility that Ukrainianforces were responsible for the attack, saying Ukraine had noanti-aircraft missile system within range of the Malaysianflight at the time it was struck.

“We are seeing a full-court press by the Russiangovernment to instruct affiliated or friendly elements tomanipulate the media environment to spread Russia’s version ofthe story.What this looks like again is a classic case of blaming the victims,” the official was quoted as saying by the daily.

The Post said US spy agencies have not reached anyconclusions on the motive for the attack.But they did noted that the reaction among separatistsrecorded on social media indicates they believed they weretargeting a Ukrainian military transport plane.

Acknowledging that the US intelligence agencies were notaware that an SA-11 system was in eastern Ukraine until theattack happened, the officials declined to answer questionsabout whether warnings about Russian military buildup over thepast month had been shared with international aviationauthorities, the daily reported.

They also declined to provide details on the satellitesand other sophisticated sensors that enabled them to trace the path of the missile, citing concerns about compromising secretUS capabilities.The officials also released the missile path which showedthat it was fired from “a geographic area” controlled byRussia-backed separatists in eastern Ukraine.The missile followed the near-vertical flight pathcharacteristic of an SA-11 launch.

“We did pick up a launch. We were able to have the abilityto track this specific launch,” an unnamed official was quotedas saying.

PTI