A Russian Aeroflot passenger plane heading to Cyprus on the day of the downing of Malaysian Airlines flight MH17 was the intended target of the Ukrainian separatist movement, the head of Ukraine’s Security Service has said, ‘Famagusta Gazette’ reports.
Instead Malaysian Airlines flight MH17 en route from Moscow to Larnaca was struck down by mistake by pro-Moscow rebels. The intention was to target Aeroflot flight AFL-2074 while it was flying over territory controlled by Ukrainian government controlled troops on its way from Moscow to Larnaca on 17th July, to create a pretext for a Russian invasion of eastern Ukraine, Valentyn Nalyvaichenko, the head of Ukraine’s Security service has said.
He said that his agency, in the course of an investigation of the incident, had come to that conclusion. Buk anti-air missile battery, which were sourced from Russia had been used for that purpose.
“This terrorist act, cynically, was planned as a pretext for the launch of an all-out aggression [into Ukraine] in response to the mass killing of innocent Russians,” Nalyvaichenko said.
Moscow has made no reaction to the claim, so far.
All 298 people on board flight MH17 were killed when the jet was shot down over eastern Ukraine in rebel-held territory on July 17th.
