Ukraine’s president is not ruling out the possibility that hostile action brought down a Malaysia Airlines which had been overflying the eastern part of the country when it lost contact with air traffic control.
President Petro Poroshenko says he “does not exclude [the idea] that this aircraft was also shot down”, following the previous attacks on Ukrainian armed forces aircraft.
He says the aircraft, operating flight MH17, “disappeared from radar” at about 16:20 local time.
Ukrainian armed forces had not taken any action against aerial targets, adds Poroshenko.
He says search and rescue efforts are underway. Malaysia Airlines has said that 295 passengers and crew were on board the aircraft. Images purporting to show the wreckage of the 777 indicate a high-energy impact with no evidence of survivors.
“We are confident that those responsible for this tragedy will be brought to justice,” says Poroshenko.
Source: Cirium Dashboard
