Moscow, July 19 (Interfax-AVN) – Russian Deputy Defense Minister Anatoly Antonov has aired a number of questions for the Ukrainian leadership answers to which he believes could help find out the real causes of a Malaysian jetliner's crash in Ukraine.
“Well, first, the Ukrainian authorities have instantly identified those responsible for the tragedy. Certainly, in their opinion, these are the militants. But what lies in the foundation of such conclusions?” Antonov said in announcing his questions in a program on the Russian news TV channel Rossiya-24 on Saturday.
Antonov also asked Kyiv whether it could report all details concerning the use of the Buk anti-aircraft missile systems in the combat area. “And, what counts most, why are these systems deployed there if the militants don’t have planes?” he said.
The Russian deputy defense minister asked Kyiv to say why it had still not taken any steps to put together an international investigative commission. “When will this commission start acting? The entire international community is waiting for this,” he said.
“Are Ukrainian armed forces officials ready to provide international experts with documents on taking the stock of air-to-air and surface-to-air missiles and ammunition for anti-aircraft systems? This is a very important question that would help determine what systems were actually used against the Malaysian Boeing,” he said.
Antonov wondered also whether information from air data recorders concerning movements of Ukrainian Air Force aircraft would be submitted to an international commission and why the Ukrainian air traffic controllers allowed the plane to deviate from its planned route to the north, where Kyiv is conducting the so-called antiterrorist operation.
The Russian Defense Ministry also wants to know why the airspace over the combat area had not been fully closed to commercial aircraft, especially taking into consideration that the area in question was not fully covered by navigation aids, he said.
Antonov also asked Kyiv to comment on reports in social media by a Spanish air traffic controller working in Ukraine alleging that two Ukrainian warplanes escorted the Boeing just before it was downed.
The next question asked by Antonov concerned the Ukrainian Security Service’s role in the investigation. “Why has the Ukrainian Security Service started working with the recordings of an exchange between Ukrainian air traffic controllers and the Boeing crew and with information from Ukrainian radars without international experts?” he said.
The Russian military official also wondered whether the Ukrainian leadership has learned the lessons of a similar disaster, in which a Russian Tupolev Tu-154 jetliner was shot down by a Ukrainian missile over the Black Sea in 2001. “The entire Ukrainian leadership denied the country’s armed forces’ responsibility for the tragedy up to the last minute,” he said.
“These questions should help not only us but also experts in West Europe, the U.S. and Asia to give the right answers or at least try to find out what actually happened in the skies over Ukraine,” he concluded.
