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GRABOVO, Ukraine (AP) — Ukraine said a passenger plane carrying 295 people was shot down Thursday as it flew over the country, and both the government and the pro-Russia separatists fighting in the region denied any responsibility for downing the plane. 
  
 Malaysia Airlines planes are parked at Kuala Lumpur International Airport in Sepang, Malaysia, Thursday, July 18, 2013. A Malaysia Airlines flight with nearly 300 people aboard crashed over eastern Ukraine... (Associated Press) 
  
 In this photo taken with a mobile phone provided by Andrei Kashtanov, smoke rises from where a Malaysia Airlines commercial plane crashed in eastern Ukraine, Thursday, July 17, 2014. Malaysia Airlines... (Associated Press) 
  
 In this Nov. 15, 2012 photo, a Malaysia Airlines Boeing 777-200 takes off from Los Angeles International Airport in Los Angeles. The plane, with the tail number 9M-MRD, is the same aircraft that was... (Associated Press) 
  
 Passenger wait at the departure hall at Kuala Lumpur International Airport, in Sepang, Malaysia, Friday, July 18, 2014. Malaysia Airlines said it lost contact with Flight MH17 over Ukrainian airspace... (Associated Press) 
  
 In this photo taken with a mobile phone provided by Andrei Kashtanov, smoke rises from where a Malaysia Airlines commercial plane crashed in eastern Ukraine, Thursday, July 17, 2014. Malaysia Airlines... (Associated Press) 
  
 Airport security personnel look at the flight information board in the departure hall, at Kuala Lumpur International Airport, in Sepang, Malaysia, Friday, July 18, 2014. Malaysia Airlines said it lost... (Associated Press) 
  
 Airport police stand guard at the arrival hall at Kuala Lumpur International Airport, in Sepang, Malaysia, Friday, July 18, 2014. Malaysia Airlines said it lost contact with Flight MH17 over Ukrainian... (Associated Press) 
  
 The main entrance of Schiphol airport in Amsterdam, Thursday, July 17, 2014. A Ukrainian official said a passenger plane carrying 295 people was shot down Thursday as it flew over the country and plumes... (Associated Press) 
  
 Passengers wait in line at the departure hall at Kuala Lumpur International Airport, in Sepang, Malaysia, Friday, July 18, 2014. Malaysia Airlines said it lost contact with Flight MH17 over Ukrainian... (Associated Press) 
  
 In this photo taken with a mobile phone provided by Andrei Kashtanov, smoke rises from where a Malaysia Airlines commercial plane crashed in eastern Ukraine, Thursday, July 17, 2014. Malaysia Airlines... (Associated Press) 
  
 As plumes of black smoke rose up near a rebel-held village of Grabovo in eastern Ukraine, an Associated Press journalist counted at least 22 bodies at the crash site 40 kilometers (25 miles) from the Russian border. 
  
 The plane appeared to have broken up before impact and the burning wreckage — which included body parts and the belongings of passengers — was scattered over a wide area. 
  
 Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko called the downing an act of terrorism and called for an international investigation into the crash. 
  
 The village of Grabovo is currently under the control of the separatists and the area has seen severe fighting between the two sides in recent days. 
  
 Malaysia Airlines confirmed that it received notification from Ukrainian aviation authorities that it had lost contact with flight MH17 at 1415 GMT some 30 kilometers (20 miles) from Tamak waypoint, approximately 50 km (30 miles) from the Russia-Ukraine border. 
  
 It said the plane had 280 passengers and 15 crew aboard a Boeing 777 that left Amsterdam at 12.15 p.m. and was to arrive at Kuala Lumpur International Airport at 6.10 a.m. Friday. 
  
 Anton Gerashenko, an adviser to Ukraine's interior minister, said on his Facebook page the plane was flying at an altitude of 10,000 meters (33,000 feet). He said it was hit by a missile fired from a Buk launcher, which can fire missiles up to an altitude of 22,000 meters (72,000 feet). 
  
 The Malaysia Airlines plane is a Boeing 777-200ER, which was delivered to Malaysia Airlines on July 30, 1997, according to Flightglobal's Ascend Online Fleets, which sells and tracks information about aircraft. It has more than 43,000 hours of flight time and 6,950 takeoffs and landings. 
  
 Poroshenko said his country's armed forces didn't shoot at any airborne targets. 
  
 "We do not exclude that this plane was shot down, and we stress that the Armed Forces of Ukraine did not take action against any airborne targets," he said. "We are sure that those who are guilty in this tragedy will be held responsible." 
  
 Separatist leader Andrei Purgin told The Associated Press that he was certain that Ukrainian troops had shot the plane down but gave no explanation or proof for his statement. 
  
 Purgin said he did not know whether rebel forces owned Buk missile launchers, but said even if they did, they had no fighters capable of operating it. 
  
 A launcher similar to the Buk missile system was seen by Associated Press journalists earlier Thursday near the eastern Ukrainian town of Snizhne, which is held by the rebels. 
  
 It was the second time that a Malaysia Airlines plane was lost in less than six months. Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 disappeared in March while en route from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing. It has not been found, but the search has been concentrated in the Indian Ocean far west of Australia. 
  
 There have been disputes over planes being shot down earlier in the region. 
  
 On Wednesday evening, a Ukrainian fighter jet was shot down by an air-to-air missile from a Russian plane, Ukrainian authorities said Thursday, adding to what Kiev says is mounting evidence that Moscow is directly supporting the separatist insurgents. Security Council spokesman Andrei Lysenko said the pilot of the Sukhoi-25 jet hit by the air-to-air missile was forced to bail after his jet was shot down. 
  
 Pro-Russia rebels, meanwhile, claimed responsibility for strikes Wednesday on two Ukrainian Sukhoi-25 jets. The Ukrainian Defense Ministry said the second jet was hit by a portable surface-to-air missile, but added the pilot was unscathed and managed to land his plane safely 
  
 Moscow denies Western charges that is supporting the separatists or sowing unrest in its neighbor. The Russian Defense Ministry couldn't be reached for comment Thursday about the Ukrainian jet being shot down. 
  
 Earlier this week, Ukraine said a military transport plane was shot down Monday by a missile fired from Russian territory. 
  
 Other passenger planes have been shot down before including: 
  
 — April 20, 1978: Korean Airlines Flight 902, which diverted from its planned course on a flight from Paris to Seoul and strayed over the Soviet Union. After being fired upon by an interceptor aircraft, the crew made a forced landing at night on the surface of a frozen lake. Two of the 97 passengers were killed by the hostile fire. 
  
 — Sept. 1, 1983: Korean Air Lines Flight 007 shot down by at least one Soviet air-to-air missile after the 747 had strayed into Soviet airspace. All 240 passengers and 29 crew were killed. 
  
 — July 3, 1988: Iran Air Flight 655 Aircraft was shot down by a surface to air missile from the American naval vessel U.S.S. Vincennes. All 16 crew and 274 passengers were killed. 
  
 ___ 
  
 Leonard reported from Kiev, Ukraine. Contributing to this report were AP Airlines Writer Scott Mayerowitz in New York; Jill Lawless and Matthew Knight in London; Laura Mills and Jim Heintz in Moscow, and Eileen Ng and Satish Cheney in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. 
  
 ___ 
  
 Leonard reported from Kiev, Ukraine. Contributing to this report were AP Airlines Writer Scott Mayerowitz in New York; Jill Lawless and Matthew Knight in London; Laura Mills and Jim Heintz in Moscow, and Eileen Ng and Satish Cheney in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. ||||| A Malaysia Airlines jet was shot down by a surface-to-air missile Thursday over separatist-controlled eastern Ukraine, apparently killing all 298 people on board and dramatically raising stakes in the conflict with the Kremlin-backed forces. 
  
 U.S. intelligence sources said tracking data from spy satellites and radar confirmed that the Boeing 777 en route from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur was hit in midair, but they couldn't immediately determine where the missile was launched. 
  
 Ukrainian officials said that Russia had recently supplied the separatists with the mobile Buk surface-to-air launching system, and that the military had not fired any antiaircraft missiles during the conflict with the separatists, which began in mid-April. A number of Ukrainian military aircraft have been shot down by the separatists. 
  
 Although Russia denied involvement, the downing of a passenger jet flying on a heavily traveled international route could sharply increase pressure on Russian President Vladimir Putin, who is accused by the United States, its allies and the Ukrainian government of backing the separatists. 
  
 Before the loss of the passenger jet Thursday, fighting in eastern Ukraine had claimed at least 500 lives in the four months since Russia seized and annexed Ukraine's Crimean peninsula, inspiring the separatists now occupying much of Ukraine's Donetsk and Luhansk regions. 
  
 On Wednesday, the Obama administration stepped up sanctions against Russia for supporting the separatists, targeting some of the country's largest financial institutions, energy companies and weapons firms. 
  
 The loss of another plane dealt a new blow to Malaysia Airlines. It hasn't solved the mystery of what happened to Flight 370, which disappeared on its way from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing in March. 
  
 Ukrainian Security Service communications intercepts made public after the early evening crash of Flight 17 suggest coordination between the separatists and Russian fighters across the border. 
  
 Malaysia Airlines said it lost contact with Flight 17, carrying 283 passengers and 15 crew members, after the aircraft failed to confirm its entry into Russian airspace on schedule at 5:20 p.m. The last contact was recorded about 4:20 p.m. by air traffic controllers. 
  
 The plane “disappeared from radar at [33,000 feet] and then crashed near the city of Shakhtersk in Ukraine's Donetsk region,” the Interfax-Ukraine news agency reported. 
  
 Witnesses in the militant-held crash area about 25 miles west of the Russian border described a gut-wrenching scene. 
  
 “Distorted bodies of dead people and body parts are lying around everywhere in an open field,” Sergei Kavtaradze, a member of the Security Council of the separatists' self-proclaimed Donetsk People's Republic, said in a phone interview. 
  
 Two things were clear from rescue workers' reports, he said: Everyone on board was killed, and it “was not us who shot down the plane because we don't have this hardware.” 
  
 Ukrainian officials disputed that assertion. Anton Gerashchenko, an advisor to the Interior Ministry, said Russia had recently supplied mobile missile systems to the separatists that are capable of taking down a plane at that altitude. 
  
 He demanded that Putin face an international tribunal in the disaster. 
  
 Neither the Kremlin nor major Russian media responded to the accusations that Moscow was behind the jet's downing. But Putin told his economic advisors meeting early Friday that the disaster was Ukraine's fault because of its offensive against separatists. 
  
 “This tragedy would not have happened if there were peace on this land, if the military actions had not been renewed in southeastern Ukraine. And, certainly, the state over whose territory this occurred bears responsibility for this awful tragedy,” the Kremlin news service quoted him as saying. 
  
 Ukrainian officials earlier Thursday accused Russian forces of being behind the downing the day before of a Ukrainian SU-25 ground-support warplane near Donetsk. 
  
 Shortly after the airliner went down, the former Russian special forces officer commanding the separatists in eastern Ukraine claimed responsibility for shooting down an AN-26 Ukrainian military transport plane. 
  
 “We warned them not to fly in our skies,” Igor Strelkov said on his Facebook page. “Peaceful people didn't suffer.” 
  
 He posted a video that later was removed from the page. 
  
 Pro-Russia separatists were the first to reach the crash site. 
  
 “Our self-defense units are already on the site,” said Andrei Purgin, first deputy premier of the breakaway region. “They already reported many dead passengers, including children.” 
  
 Sergei Taruta, the Kiev-appointed governor of the Donetsk region sidelined by the militants, said the separatists were blocking the crash site. 
  
 Russia's RIA Novosti news agency quoted Donetsk separatist leader Oleksandr Boroday as saying the separatists were calling a two- to three-day cease-fire to facilitate investigation of the crash. Boroday was quoted as saying the incident appeared to have been a “provocation.” 
  
 In spite of the conflict in eastern Ukraine, dozens of Europe-to-Asia flights have been passing over the region each day, aviation industry experts say. 
  
 Ukrainian officials had closed airspace below 32,000 feet, an altitude just below that at which the Malaysian jet was flying. 
  
 Mark Duell, vice president of operations at the flight tracking website FlightAware.com, said that flights from carriers that include Transaero Airlines, Emirates Airlines and Singapore Airlines have traveled over the region. 
  
 “We haven't found an airline that's been avoiding it previous to today,” he said. “Of course now that's changed.” 
  
 President Obama said the U.S. government was offering “any assistance we can to help determine what happened and why.” 
  
 Obama learned of the plane's downing while speaking on the phone with Putin on Thursday morning. Putin had requested the call with Obama to discuss the latest round of economic sanctions imposed by Washington and other Western governments. 
  
 News of the plane crash began to break while the two leaders spoke, White House Press Secretary Josh Earnest said later, and Putin mentioned the reports to Obama during the call. 
  
 Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak issued a statement lamenting the “terrible and deeply shocking news” of the second loss of a Malaysia Airlines 777 this year. 
  
 On March 8, Flight 370 bound for Beijing went missing, setting off a global search that has riveted international attention. No trace of the flight has been located despite the costliest lost-aircraft search in history. |||||
– A Malaysia Airlines passenger plane crashed in Ukraine this morning, and all 283 passengers and 15 crew are feared dead, reports Reuters. A Ukrainian interior ministry official says the Boeing 777 was shot down by a surface-to-air missile, though it's too early to confirm the claim. (US intelligence agrees that a missile is to blame.) The plane, which originated in Amsterdam and was bound for Kuala Lumpur, was flying at 33,000 feet when it "began to drop; afterwards it was found burning on the ground on Ukrainian territory," a witness tells Interfax. It came down over territory held by separatists about 25 miles short of the Russian border, near the city of Donetsk, reports the LA Times. The region has seen fierce fighting in recent days. Immediately afterward, Ukraine President Petro Poroshenko said his troops "did not take action against any airborne targets," and pro-Russian separatists also denied responsibility. The plane appeared to have broken apart before hitting the ground, reports the AP, with one of its reporters counting at least 22 bodies at the crash site. President Obama and Russian President Vladimir Putin spoke by phone about the disaster, though no details about the discussion were immediately released. Malaysia Airlines, still reeling from the disappearance of another passenger jet, confirmed via Twitter that it "has lost contact of MH17 from Amsterdam. The last known position was over Ukrainian airspace." The airline's initial statement is here.
Sammanfatta denna artikel: GRABOVO, Ukraina (AP) — Ukraina sade att ett passagerarplan med 295 personer sköts ner torsdag när det flög över landet, och både regeringen och de ryska separatisterna som stred i regionen förnekade allt ansvar för att ha störtat planet. Malaysia Airlines plan parkeras på Kuala Lumpur International Airport i Sepang, Malaysia, torsdagen den 18 juli 2013. En Malaysia Airlines flygning med nästan 300 personer ombord störtade över östra Ukraina... (Associated Press) I detta foto taget med en mobiltelefon som tillhandahålls av Andrej Kashtanov, stiger röken varifrån ett Malaysia Airlines kommersiella plan störtade i östra Ukraina, torsdagen den 17 juli 2014. Malaysia Airlines... (Associated Press) I denna November 15, 2012 foto, en Malaysia Airlines Boeing 777-200 lyfter från Los Angeles internationella flygplats i Los Angeles. Planet, med svansnumret 9M-MRD, är samma flygplan som var... (Associated Press) Passagerare väntar vid avgångshallen på Kuala Lumpur International Airport, i Sepang, Malaysia, fredagen den 18 juli 2014. Malaysia Airlines sa att den förlorade kontakten med Flight MH17 över ukrainskt luftrum... (Associated Press) I detta foto taget med en mobiltelefon som tillhandahålls av Andrej Kashtanov, stiger röken varifrån ett Malaysia Airlines kommersiella plan störtade i östra Ukraina, torsdagen den 17 juli 2014. Malaysia Airlines... (Associated Press) Flygplatsens säkerhetspersonal tittar på flyginformationstavlan i avgångshallen, på Kuala Lumpur International Airport, i Sepang, Malaysia, fredagen den 18 juli 2014. Malaysia Airlines sa att den förlorade... (Associated Press) Flygplatspolisen står vakt vid ankomsthallen på Kuala Lumpur International Airport, i Sepang, Malaysia, fredagen den 18 juli 2014. Malaysia Airlines sade att den förlorat kontakten med Flight MH17 över ukrainska... (Associated Press) Huvudingången av Schiphol flygplats i Amsterdam, torsdag, 17 juli 2014. En ukrainsk tjänsteman sade att ett passagerarplan med 295 personer sköts ner torsdag när det flög över landet och plymer... (Associated Press) Passagerare väntar i kö vid avgångshallen på Kuala Lumpur International Airport, i Sepang, Malaysia, fredagen den 18 juli 2014. Malaysia Airlines sade att den förlorat kontakten med Flight MH17 över ukrainska... (Associated Press) I detta foto taget med en mobiltelefon som tillhandahålls av Andrej Kashtanov, stiger röken varifrån ett Malaysia Airlines kommersiella plan störtade i östra Ukraina, torsdagen den 17 juli 2014. Malaysia Airlines... (Associated Press) När plymer av svart rök steg upp nära en rebell-hållen by Grabovo i östra Ukraina, räknade en Associated Press journalist minst 22 kroppar vid olycksplatsen 40 kilometer (25 miles) från den ryska gränsen. Planet verkade ha brutit upp före nedslaget och det brinnande vraket – som omfattade kroppsdelar och passagerarnas tillhörigheter – var utspritt över ett brett område. Den ukrainske presidenten Petro Porosjenko kallade störtandet för ett terrordåd och krävde en internationell utredning av kraschen. Byn Grabovo står för närvarande under separatisternas kontroll och området har de senaste dagarna sett svåra strider mellan de båda sidorna. Malaysia Airlines bekräftade att man fått underrättelse från ukrainska luftfartsmyndigheter om att man förlorat kontakten med flyg MH17 vid 1415 GMT cirka 30 kilometer (20 miles) från Tamak waypoint, cirka 50 km (30 miles) från gränsen mellan Ryssland och Ukraina. Det stod att planet hade 280 passagerare och 15 besättning ombord på en Boeing 777 som lämnade Amsterdam klockan 12.15 och skulle anlända till Kuala Lumpur International Airport klockan 6.10 fredagen. Anton Gerasjenko, rådgivare åt Ukrainas inrikesminister, sade på sin Facebook-sida att planet flög på en höjd av 10 000 meter. Han sade att den träffades av en missil avfyrad från en Buk-avfyrning, som kan avfyra missiler upp till en höjd av 22.000 meter (72.000 fot). Malaysia Airlines-planet är en Boeing 777-200ER, som levererades till Malaysia Airlines den 30 juli 1997, enligt Flightglobals Ascend Online Fleets, som säljer och spårar information om flygplan. Den har mer än 43 000 timmars flygtid och 6.950 starter och landningar. Porosjenko sa att landets försvarsmakt inte sköt mot några luftburna mål. "Vi utesluter inte att detta plan sköts ner, och vi betonar att Ukrainas försvarsmakt inte vidtog åtgärder mot några luftburna mål", sade han. "Vi är säkra på att de som är skyldiga till denna tragedi kommer att ställas till svars." Separatistledaren Andrej Purgin berättade för The Associated Press att han var säker på att ukrainska trupper hade skjutit ner planet men gav ingen förklaring eller bevis för hans uttalande. Purgin sa att han inte visste om rebellstyrkorna ägde Buks missilgevär, men sa även om de gjorde det, så hade de inga stridsflygplan som kunde sköta det. En bärraket liknande Buk missilsystemet sågs av Associated Press journalister tidigare torsdag nära den östra ukrainska staden Snizhne, som hålls av rebellerna. Det var andra gången som ett Malaysia Airlines-plan gick förlorat på mindre än ett halvår. Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 försvann i mars medan på väg från Kuala Lumpur till Peking. Den har inte påträffats, men sökningen har koncentrerats till Indiska oceanen långt väster om Australien. Det har förekommit tvister om flygplan som skjutits ner tidigare i regionen. På onsdag kväll sköts ett ukrainskt jaktflygplan ner av en luft-till-luft-missil från ett ryskt plan, ukrainska myndigheter sade torsdag, och tillägger vad Kiev säger ökar bevisen för att Moskva direkt stöder separatistupproren. Säkerhetsrådets talesman Andrej Lysenko sa att piloten på Sukhoi-25 jetplanet som träffades av luft-till-luft-roboten tvingades dra sig ur efter att hans jetplan skjutits ner. Proryska rebeller tog under tiden på sig ansvaret för strejker onsdag på två ukrainska Sukhoi-25 jetplan. Ukrainas försvarsministerium sade att det andra jetplanet träffades av en bärbar yt-till-luft-robot, men tillade piloten var oskadd och lyckades landa sitt plan säkert Moskva förnekar västerländska anklagelser som stöder separatisterna eller sådd oroligheter i sin granne. Rysslands försvarsministerium kunde inte nås för att kommentera torsdag om det ukrainska jetplanet som sköts ner. Tidigare i veckan sa Ukraina att ett militärt transportplan sköts ner i måndags av en missil avfyrad från ryskt territorium. Andra passagerarflygplan har skjutits ner innan bland annat: — 20 april 1978: Korean Airlines Flight 902, som avledde från sin planerade kurs på en flygning från Paris till Seoul och förirrade sig över Sovjetunionen. Efter att ha beskjutits av ett interceptorflygplan gjorde besättningen en nödlandning nattetid på ytan av en frusen sjö. Två av de 97 passagerarna dödades av den fientliga branden. — 1 september 1983: Korean Air Lines Flight 007 sköts ner av minst en sovjetisk luft-till-luft-robot efter att 747:an hade kommit in i sovjetiskt luftrum. Alla 240 passagerare och 29 besättningsmedlemmar omkom. — 3 juli 1988: Iran Air Flight 655 Aircraft sköts ner av en yta till luftrobot från det amerikanska örlogsfartyget U.S. Vincennes. Alla 16 besättningsmän och 274 passagerare omkom. Leonard rapporterade från Kiev, Ukraina. Till denna rapport bidrog AP Airlines Writer Scott Mayerowitz i New York; Jill Lawless och Matthew Knight i London; Laura Mills och Jim Heintz i Moskva, samt Eileen Ng och Satish Cheney i Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Leonard rapporterade från Kiev, Ukraina. Till denna rapport bidrog AP Airlines Writer Scott Mayerowitz i New York; Jill Lawless och Matthew Knight i London; Laura Mills och Jim Heintz i Moskva, samt Eileen Ng och Satish Cheney i Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Ett Malaysia Airlines-jet sköts ner av en luftvärnsrobot på torsdag över det separatistkontrollerade östra Ukraina, som tydligen dödade alla 298 personer ombord och dramatiskt ökade insatserna i konflikten med de styrkor som stödde Kreml. Amerikanska underrättelsekällor sa att spårningsdata från spionsatelliter och radar bekräftade att Boeing 777 på väg från Amsterdam till Kuala Lumpur träffades mitt i luften, men de kunde inte omedelbart avgöra var missilen avfyrades. Ukrainska tjänstemän sade att Ryssland nyligen hade försett separatisterna med det mobila Buk-avfyringssystemet yt-till-luft, och att militären inte hade avfyrat några luftvärnsrobotar under konflikten med separatisterna, som inleddes i mitten av april. Ett antal ukrainska militärflygplan har skjutits ner av separatisterna. Även om Ryssland förnekade inblandning, skulle en sänkning av ett passagerarflygplan som flyger på en tungt trafikerad internationell rutt kraftigt kunna öka trycket på den ryske presidenten Vladimir Putin, som anklagas av USA, dess allierade och den ukrainska regeringen för att stödja separatisterna. Före förlusten av passagerarjettorsdagen hade strider i östra Ukraina krävt minst 500 liv under de fyra månader som Ryssland hade beslagtagit och annekterat Ukrainas halvö Krim, vilket inspirerat separatisterna som nu ockuperar stora delar av Ukrainas Donetsk- och Luhanskregioner. På onsdagen skärpte Obama-administrationen sanktionerna mot Ryssland för att ha stött separatisterna, och riktade sig mot några av landets största finansinstitut, energibolag och vapenföretag. Förlusten av ett annat plan gav Malaysia Airlines ett nytt slag. Den har inte löst mysteriet med vad som hände med Flight 370, som försvann på väg från Kuala Lumpur till Peking i mars. Ukrainska säkerhetstjänstens kommunikationer som offentliggjordes efter den tidiga kvällskraschen med Flight 17 tyder på samordning mellan separatisterna och ryska stridsflygplan över gränsen. Malaysia Airlines sa att den förlorade kontakten med Flight 17, med 283 passagerare och 15 besättningsmedlemmar, efter att flygplanet misslyckats med att bekräfta sitt inträde i ryskt luftrum enligt tidtabellen kl. 17.20. Den sista kontakten spelades in omkring klockan 16.20 av flygledare. Planet “försvann från radar på [33.000 fot] och sedan kraschade nära staden Shakhtersk i Ukrainas Donetsk regionen,” Interfax-Ukraina nyhetsbyrån rapporterade. Vittnen i det militanta kraschområdet cirka 25 mil väster om den ryska gränsen beskrev en gut-wrenching scen. “Förvrängda kroppar av döda människor och kroppsdelar ligger överallt på ett öppet fält,” Sergej Kavtaradze, en medlem av säkerhetsrådet för separatisternas självutnämnda Donetsk Folkrepubliken, sade i en telefonintervju. Två saker stod klart i räddningsarbetarnas rapporter, sade han: Alla ombord dödades, och det var inte vi som sköt ner planet eftersom vi inte har denna hårdvara.” Ukrainska tjänstemän bestred detta påstående. Anton Gerasjtjenko, rådgivare till inrikesministeriet, sade att Ryssland nyligen hade levererat mobila missilsystem till separatisterna som är kapabla att ta ner ett plan på den höjden. Han krävde att Putin skulle ställas inför en internationell tribunal i katastrofen. Varken Kreml eller större ryska medier svarade på anklagelserna om att Moskva låg bakom jetplanets undergång. Men Putin berättade för sina ekonomiska rådgivare som träffades tidigt på fredagen att katastrofen var Ukrainas fel på grund av dess offensiv mot separatister. — Denna tragedi skulle inte ha inträffat om det rådde fred på detta land, om inte de militära aktionerna hade förnyats i sydöstra Ukraina. Och förvisso bär den stat över vars territorium detta inträffade ansvaret för denna fruktansvärda tragedi”, citerade Kremls nyhetstjänst honom som säger. Ukrainas tjänstemän tidigare torsdag anklagade ryska styrkor för att ligga bakom nedgången dagen innan av ett ukrainskt SU-25 markstödskrigsplan nära Donetsk. Strax efter att flygplanet störtat, tog den tidigare ryska specialförbandsofficeren befälet över separatisterna i östra Ukraina på sig ansvaret för att ha skjutit ner ett AN-26 ukrainskt militärt transportplan. “Vi varnade dem för att flyga i vår himmel,” Igor Strelkov sade på sin Facebook-sida. ”Fredslystna människor led inte.” Han lade upp en video som senare togs bort från sidan. Proryska separatister var de första som nådde kraschplatsen. “Våra självförsvar enheter är redan på platsen,” sade Andrei Purgin, förste vice premiärminister i utbrytarregionen. “De redan rapporterat många döda passagerare, inklusive barn.” Sergej Taruta, Kiev-utnämnd guvernör i Donetsk-regionen åsidosatt av militanterna, sade separatisterna blockerade kraschplatsen. Rysslands RIA Novosti nyhetsbyrå citerade Donetsk separatistledare Oleksandr Boroday som sade att separatisterna utlyste ett två till tre dagars vapenstillestånd för att underlätta utredningen av kraschen. Boroday citerades som säger att händelsen verkade ha varit en “uppmaning.” Trots konflikten i östra Ukraina, dussintals Europa-till-Asien flygningar har passerat regionen varje dag, säger luftfartsexperter. Ukrainska tjänstemän hade stängt luftrum under 32.000 fot, en höjd strax under den som det malaysiska jetplanet flög på. Mark Duell, vice VD för verksamheten på webbplatsen för flygspårning FlightAware.com, sade att flygningar från flygbolag som inkluderar Transaero Airlines, Emirates Airlines och Singapore Airlines har rest över regionen. “Vi har inte hittat ett flygbolag som har undvikit det tidigare än idag,” sade han. "Naturligtvis nu som har förändrats." President Obama sade att den amerikanska regeringen erbjöd "någon hjälp vi kan hjälpa till att avgöra vad som hände och varför." Obama fick veta om planets nedgång medan talar i telefon med Putin på torsdag morgon. Putin hade begärt uppmaningen med Obama att diskutera den senaste omgången av ekonomiska sanktioner som införts av Washington och andra västerländska regeringar. Nyheter om flygkraschen började gå sönder medan de två ledarna talade, sade Vita husets pressekreterare Josh Earnest senare, och Putin nämnde rapporterna till Obama under samtalet. Malaysias premiärminister Najib Razak utfärdade ett uttalande som beklagade den “fruktansvärda och djupt chockerande nyheter” om den andra förlusten av en Malaysia Airlines 777 i år. Den 8 mars försvann flight 370 till Peking, vilket satte igång en global sökning som har nitat internationell uppmärksamhet. Inga spår av flygningen har hittats trots historiens mest kostsamma sökning. Â°°
Summarizing this article: GRABOVO, Ukraine (AP) — Ukraine said a passenger plane of 295 people was shot down Thursday as it flew over the country, and both the government and the Russian separatists fighting in the region denied all responsibility for overthrowing the plane. Malaysia Airlines plane is parked at Kuala Lumpur International Airport in Sepang, Malaysia, Thursday, July 18, 2013. A Malaysia Airlines flight with nearly 300 people on board crashed across eastern Ukraine... (Associated Press) In this photo taken with a mobile phone provided by Andrei Kashtanov, the smoke rises from where a Malaysia Airlines commercial plane crashed in eastern Ukraine, Thursday, July 17, 2014. Malaysia Airlines... (Associated Press) In this November 15, 2012 photo, a Malaysia Airlines Boeing 777-200 takes off from Los Angeles International Airport in Los Angeles. The plane, with the tail number 9M-MRD, is the same aircraft that was... (Associated Press) Passengers are waiting at the departure hall at Kuala Lumpur International Airport, in Sepang, Malaysia, on Friday 18 July 2014. Malaysia Airlines said it lost contact with Flight MH17 over Ukrainian airspace... (Associated Press) In this photo taken with a mobile phone provided by Andrei Kashtanov, the smoke rises from where a Malaysia Airlines commercial plane crashed in eastern Ukraine, Thursday, July 17, 2014. Malaysia Airlines... (Associated Press) Airport security personnel are looking at the flight information board in the departure hall, at Kuala Lumpur International Airport, in Sepang, Malaysia, on Friday, 18 July 2014. Malaysia Airlines said the lost... (Associated Press) Airport police are standing guard at the arrival hall at Kuala Lumpur International Airport, in Sepang, Malaysia, on Friday, 18 July 2014. Malaysia Airlines said it lost contact with Flight MH17 over Ukrainian... (Associated Press) The main entrance of Schiphol airport in Amsterdam, Thursday, 17 July 2014. A Ukrainian official said that a passenger plane with 295 people was shot down Thursday when it flew across the country and plumes... (Associated Press) Passengers are waiting in line at the departure hall at Kuala Lumpur International Airport, in Sepang, Malaysia, on Friday 18 July 2014. Malaysia Airlines said it lost contact with Flight MH17 over Ukrainian... (Associated Press) In this photo taken with a mobile phone provided by Andrei Kashtanov, the smoke rises from where a Malaysia Airlines commercial plane crashed in eastern Ukraine, Thursday, July 17, 2014. Malaysia Airlines... (Associated Press) As plumes of black smoke rose near a rebel-held village of Grabovo in eastern Ukraine, an Associated Press journalist counted at least 22 bodies at the crash site 40 kilometres (25 miles) from the Russian border. The plane appeared to have broken up before impact and the burning wreckage—which included body parts and passenger belongings—was spread out over a wide area. Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko called the overthrow an act of terrorism and demanded an international investigation into the crash. The village of Grabovo is currently under the control of the separatists and the area has seen severe fighting between the two sides in recent days. Malaysia Airlines confirmed that it received notification from Ukrainian aviation authorities that it lost contact with flight MH17 at 1415 GMT about 30 kilometres (20 miles) from Tamak waypoint, about 50 km (30 miles) from the border between Russia and Ukraine. It said the plane had 280 passengers and 15 crew aboard a Boeing 777 leaving Amsterdam at 12.15 p.m. and was due to arrive at Kuala Lumpur International Airport at 6.10 p.m. Friday. Anton Gerashenko, advisor to the Ukrainian Interior Minister, said on his Facebook page that the plane flew at an altitude of 10,000 metres. He said it was hit by a missile fired from a Buk launch, capable of firing missiles up to a height of 22,000 metres (72,000 feet). The Malaysia Airlines plane is a Boeing 777-200ER, which was delivered to Malaysia Airlines on 30 July 1997, according to Flightglobals Ascend Online Fleets, which sells and tracks information about aircraft. It has more than 43,000 hours of flight time and 6,950 take-offs and landings. Poroshenko said the country's armed forces did not fire at any airborne targets. "We do not rule out this plane being shot down, and we stress that the Armed Forces of Ukraine did not take action against any airborne targets," he said. "We are confident that those guilty of this tragedy will be held accountable." Separatist leader Andrei Purgin told The Associated Press that he was sure Ukrainian troops had shot down the plane but provided no explanation or evidence for his statement. Purgin said he didn't know if the rebel forces owned Buk's missile rifle, but even if they did, they didn't have any fighter aircraft to handle it. A launcher similar to the Buk missile system was seen by Associated Press journalists earlier Thursday near the eastern Ukrainian city of Snizhne, held by the rebels. It was the second time that a Malaysia Airlines plane was lost in less than six months. Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 disappeared in March while en route from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing. It has not been found, but the search has concentrated in the Indian Ocean far west of Australia. There have been disputes over aircraft shot down earlier in the region. On Wednesday night, a Ukrainian fighter aircraft was shot down by an air-to-air missile from a Russian plane, Ukrainian authorities said Thursday, adding what Kiev says increases evidence that Moscow directly supports the separatist uprisings. Security Council spokesman Andrei Lysenko said the pilot of the Sukhoi-25 jet struck by the air-to-air missile was forced to withdraw after his jet was shot down. Pro-Russian rebels meanwhile claimed responsibility for strikes Wednesday on two Ukrainian Sukhoi-25 jets. Ukraine's Ministry of Defence said the second jet was hit by a portable surface-to-air missile, but added the pilot was unharmed and managed to land his plane safely Moscow denies Western charges supporting the separatists or sowing unrest in his neighbor. Russia's Ministry of Defence could not be reached to comment on Thursday about the Ukrainian jet that was shot down. Earlier this week, Ukraine said a military transport plane was shot down on Monday by a missile fired from Russian territory. Other passenger aircraft have been shot down before including: — April 20, 1978: Korean Airlines Flight 902, which diverted from its planned course on a flight from Paris to Seoul and strayed across the Soviet Union. After being fired upon by an interceptor aircraft, the crew made an emergency landing at night on the surface of a frozen lake. Two of the 97 passengers were killed by the hostile fire. — September 1, 1983: Korean Air Lines Flight 007 was shot down by at least one Soviet air-to-air missile after the 747 had entered Soviet airspace. All 240 passengers and 29 crew members were killed. — July 3, 1988: Iran Air Flight 655 Aircraft was shot down by an area to airrobot from the American warship U.S. Vincennes. All 16 crew members and 274 passengers were killed. Leonard reported from Kiev, Ukraine. This report was contributed by AP Airlines Writer Scott Mayerowitz in New York; Jill Lawless and Matthew Knight in London; Laura Mills and Jim Heintz in Moscow, and Eileen Ng and Satish Cheney in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Leonard reported from Kiev, Ukraine. This report was contributed by AP Airlines Writer Scott Mayerowitz in New York; Jill Lawless and Matthew Knight in London; Laura Mills and Jim Heintz in Moscow, and Eileen Ng and Satish Cheney in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. A Malaysia Airlines jet was shot down by an anti-aircraft missile on Thursday over the separatist-controlled eastern Ukraine, which apparently killed all 298 people on board and dramatically increased efforts in the conflict with the forces supporting the Kremlin. US intelligence sources said that tracking data from spy satellites and radar confirmed that Boeing 777 en route from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur was hit in the middle of the air, but they could not immediately determine where the missile was fired. Ukrainian officials said Russia had recently provided the separatists with the mobile Buk launch system surface-to-air, and that the military had not fired any anti-aircraft missiles during the conflict with the separatists, which began in mid-April. A number of Ukrainian military aircraft have been shot down by the separatists. Although Russia denied interference, a sinking of a passenger aircraft flying on a heavily operated international route could greatly increase pressure on Russian President Vladimir Putin, who is accused by the United States, its allies, and the Ukrainian government to support the separatists. Prior to the loss of passenger jet Thursday, fighting in eastern Ukraine had claimed at least 500 lives in the four months Russia had seized and annexed Ukraine's Crimean peninsula, inspiring the separatists who are now occupying much of Ukraine's Donetsk and Luhansk regions. On Wednesday, the Obama administration tightened sanctions against Russia for supporting the separatists, targeting some of the country's largest financial institutions, energy companies and arms companies. The loss of another plane gave Malaysia Airlines a new blow. It has not solved the mystery of what happened to Flight 370, which disappeared en route from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing in March. Ukrainian security services communications published after the early evening crash with Flight 17 indicate coordination between the separatists and Russian fighter aircraft across the border. Malaysia Airlines said it lost contact with Flight 17, with 283 passengers and 15 crew members, after the aircraft failed to confirm its entry into Russian airspace on schedule at 5:20 p.m. The last contact was recorded at about 4:20 p.m. by air traffic controllers. The plane “disappeared from radar at [33,000 feet] and then crashed near the town of Shakhtersk in Ukraine’s Donetsk region,” Interfax-Ukraine news agency reported. Witnesses in the militant crash area about 250 miles west of the Russian border described a gut-wrenching scene. “Distorted bodies of dead people and body parts are everywhere in an open field,” Sergei Kavtaradze, a member of the Security Council of the self-proclaimed Donetsk People’s Republic, said in a telephone interview. Two things were clear in the rescuers’ reports, he said: everyone on board was killed, and it was not we who shot down the plane because we do not have this hardware.” Ukrainian officials contested this claim. Anton Gerashchenko, advisor to the Ministry of the Interior, said Russia had recently supplied mobile missile systems to the separatists capable of taking down a plane at that altitude. He called for Putin to face an international tribunal in the disaster. Neither the Kremlin nor major Russian media responded to the allegations that Moscow was behind the downfall of the jet. But Putin told his financial advisers who met early Friday that the disaster was Ukraine's fault due to its offensive against separatists. — This tragedy would not have occurred if there were peace on this country, unless military action had been renewed in southeastern Ukraine. And indeed the state over whose territory this occurred bears responsibility for this terrible tragedy,” the Kremlin news service quoted him as saying. Ukrainian officials earlier Thursday accused Russian forces of being behind the decline the day before of a Ukrainian SU-25 ground support war plan near Donetsk. Shortly after the aircraft crashed, the former Russian Special Forces officer took command of the separatists in eastern Ukraine claiming responsibility for shooting down an AN-26 Ukrainian military transport plane. “We warned them not to fly in our skies,” Igor Strelkov said on his Facebook page. “Peaceful people didn’t suffer.” He posted a video that was later removed from the page. Pro-Russian separatists were the first to reach the crash site. “Our self-defense units are already on the scene,” said Andrei Purgin, first deputy prime minister of the breakaway region. “They already reported many dead passengers, including children.” Sergei Taruta, Kiev-appointed governor of Donetsk region sidelined by the militants, said the separatists blocked the crash site. Russia's RIA Novosti news agency quoted Donetsk separatist leader Oleksandr Boroday as saying that the separatists called for a two to three day armistice to facilitate investigation of the crash. Boroday was quoted as saying that the incident seemed to have been a “call.” Despite the conflict in eastern Ukraine, dozens of Europe-to-Asia flights have passed the region every day, say aviation experts. Ukrainian officials had closed airspace below 32,000 feet, a height just below that on which the Malaysian jet flew. Mark Duell, vice president of operations on the FlightAware.com flight tracking website, said flights from airlines including Transaero Airlines, Emirates Airlines and Singapore Airlines have traveled across the region. “We haven’t found an airline that has avoided it earlier than today,” he said. "Of course now that has changed." President Obama said that the U.S. government offered "any help we can help determine what happened and why." Obama learned about the plane's decline while speaking on the phone with Putin on Thursday morning. Putin had requested the call with Obama to discuss the recent round of economic sanctions imposed by Washington and other Western governments. News of the plane crash began to break down while the two leaders spoke, White House Press Secretary Josh Earnest later said, and Putin mentioned the reports to Obama during the conversation. Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak issued a statement deploring the “terrible and deeply shocking news” of the second loss of a Malaysia Airlines 777 this year. On March 8, flight 370 disappeared to Beijing, triggering a global search that has riveted international attention. No trace of the flight has been found despite the most costly search of history. <unk>
– Ett Malaysia Airlines passagerarplan havererade i Ukraina i morse, och alla 283 passagerare och 15 besättningar befaras döda, rapporterar Reuters. En ukrainsk inrikesminister säger att Boeing 777 sköts ner av en luftvärnsrobot, även om det är för tidigt att bekräfta påståendet. (USA:s underrättelsetjänst håller med om att det är en missil som bär skulden.) Planet, som hade sitt ursprung i Amsterdam och var på väg till Kuala Lumpur, flög på 33.000 fot när det "började falla; efteråt hittades det brinnande på marken på ukrainskt territorium", berättar ett vittne för Interfax. Den kom ner över områden som hölls av separatister cirka 25 miles från den ryska gränsen, nära staden Donetsk, uppger LA Times. Regionen har de senaste dagarna sett häftiga strider. Omedelbart efteråt sade Ukrainas president Petro Porosjenko att hans trupper "inte vidtog åtgärder mot några luftburna mål", och proryska separatister förnekade också ansvar. Planet verkade ha brutits sönder innan det slog i marken, uppger AP, med en av dess reportrar som räknade minst 22 kroppar vid haveriplatsen. President Barack Obama och Rysslands president Vladimir Putin talade per telefon om katastrofen, även om inga detaljer om diskussionen omedelbart släpptes. Malaysia Airlines, fortfarande vacklande från försvinnandet av en annan passagerarjet, bekräftade via Twitter att det "har förlorat kontakt med MH17 från Amsterdam. Den senaste kända positionen var över ukrainskt luftrum." Flygbolagets första redogörelse är här.
“A Malaysia Airlines passenger plane crashed in Ukraine this morning, and all 283 passengers and 15 crews are feared dead,” reports Reuters. A Ukrainian Interior Minister says that Boeing 777 was shot down by an anti-aircraft missile, although it is too early to confirm the claim. (U.S. intelligence agrees that it is a missile that is to blame.) The plane, which originated in Amsterdam and was en route to Kuala Lumpur, flew at 33,000 feet when it "began to fall; afterwards it was found burning on the ground on Ukrainian territory," a witness tells Interfax. It came down over areas held by separatists about 25 miles from the Russian border, near the town of Donetsk, states the LA Times. The region has seen fierce fighting in recent days. Immediately afterwards, Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko said that his troops "did not take action against any airborne targets", and pro-Russian separatists also denied responsibility. The plane appeared to have broken apart before hitting the ground, states AP, with one of its reporters counting at least 22 bodies at the crash site. President Obama and Russian President Vladimir Putin spoke over the phone about the disaster, although no details of the discussion were immediately released. Malaysia Airlines, still faltering from the disappearance of another passenger jet, confirmed via Twitter that it "has lost contact with MH17 from Amsterdam. The last known position was over Ukrainian airspace." The airline's first statement is here.