Interfax: Russia confirms operation of Ukrainian long-range defense systems on day of MH17 crash

File Photo of Buk-1 SAM

(Interfax – July 18, 2014) The route and crash site of yesterday’s downed Malaysian Boeing 777 jet falls within the zone targeted by two Ukrainian squadrons operating a S-200 long-range air defense system and three squadrons operating a Buk-M1 medium-range air defense system, a spokesperson for the Russian Defense Ministry told Interfax-AVN on Friday.

Throughout July 17, Russian aviation systems were registering the operation of the RLS-9s18 Kupol radar of the Buk-M1 air defense squadron deployed near the village of Styl (30 kilometers south of Donetsk), the spokesperson said.

The technical characteristics of the Buk-M1 air defense system allow an exchange of information about aerial targets between the squadrons within the same division, the defense ministry said.

Thus, missiles could have been launched by all squadrons deployed in the villages of Avdeyevka (eight kilometers north of Donetsk) or Gruzsko-Zaryanskoye (25 kilometers east of Donetsk), the defense ministry said.

It was reported that 298 people died after a Boeing 777 flying from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur crashed on July 17.

 

Comment