US ‘can’t rule out Russia helping rebels fire missile’

The United States said it could not rule out Russian help to separatists in Ukraine in firing an SA-11 surface-to-air missile that likely downed a Malaysian airliner in eastern Ukraine with 298 people on board.

US ambassador to the United Nations Samantha Power told the UN Security Council that a Malaysian Airlines Boeing 777 was “likely downed by a surface-to-air missile... operated from a separatist-held location in eastern Ukraine”.

“Because of the technical complexity of the SA-11, it is unlikely that the separatists could effectively operate the system without assistance from knowledgeable personnel. Thus we cannot rule out technical assistance from Russian personnel in operating the systems,” Power said.