'Ukraine releases rocket launcher footage'
Ukrainian officials have released unverified footage which they say shows a rocket launcher that could have taken down Malaysian flight MH17.
The footage, posted by Ukraine's defense ministry to its YouTube account, appears to show a Buk missile system in transit to the Russian border from eastern Ukraine on July 18.
The ministry said the footage was filmed by a police surveillance squad this morning as the truck was headed to the city of Krasnodon, towards the Russian border, according to UK newspaper The Mirror.
It was was reportedly taken about 15 miles east of the crash site.
The soviet-era BUK rocket launcher is one of the few that analysts have described as being capable of taking down a passenger jet flying at 33,000 feet.
Days before the MH17 tragedy, the United States accused Russia of sending tanks and rocket launchers to pro-Moscow rebels in Ukraine.
After the incident, U.S. Ambassador Samantha Power said the missile was likely fired from a rebel-held area near the Russian border.
Power said that early Thursday, a journalist saw an SA-11 system — known in Russia as a Buk missile system — in separatist-controlled territory near Snizhne, "and separatists were spotted hours before the incident with an SA-11 SAM system close to the site where the plane came down."
Mourners gather at an Australian airport to pay tribute to the 298 killed in the MH17 tragedy. Photo: AAP.
"Separatists initially claimed responsibility for shooting down a military transport plane, and claimed responsibility and posted videos that are now being connected to the Malaysian Airlines crash," Power said. "Separatist leaders also boasted on social media about shooting down a plane, but later deleted these messages."
"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," she said.
