Let’s talk about this Malaysian airplane. No, not the one you heard about a few weeks ago. This is a different one.
A missile struck down MH-17 on July 17, killing all 283 passengers and 15 crewmembers on board. Flight MH-17 was traveling from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur and was shot down over eastern Ukraine.
It’s unclear if the missile was launched by the Russian military or by pro-Russian separatists. Both sides deny accusations.
A little bit of background on Ukraine:
Ukraine formed a new government in February over concerns about the country’s increasing ties to Russia.
Since the split, pro-Russian separatists have been fighting with the forces representing the new Ukrainian government.
The story of MH-17 is a tangled one.
The cockpit was found sawed in half at the crash site and is said to have been tampered with.
President Barack Obama stated that the separatists are removing evidence from the crash site and asked what they are trying to hide.
U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry is adamant that the separatists fired the missile. On Fox News Sunday he mentioned that shortly after the crash, separatists were bragging about having shot down a transport plane on social media.
“We know that the so-called defense minister of the People’s Republic of Donetsk, Mr. Igor Strelkov, actually posted a bragging social media posting of having shot down a military transport. And then when it became apparent it was civilian, they pulled it down from social media.”
Strelkov said that the information passed along did not come directly from him and that the information was unofficial and incorrect.
Eventually, the investigation will come to an end and the pieces of the puzzle will be put together, but nothing will lessen the impact of 298.
In the thick of this political conflict it’s easy to see 298 as a figure or a manifestation of tensions.
Two hundred and ninety-eight people will not be returning home to their loved ones. Families will now have to begin the process of identifying bodies.
MH-17 is a tragedy, and I send my deepest condolences and regret to all those grieving the loss of a loved one.
