Russians blame Ukrainian military for Boeing crash

Forty-four percent of Russians believe that responsibility for the deaths of people on board the Boeing shot down over Donbass lies with the Ukrainian military. This is evidenced by the Levada Center survey data.

Slightly fewer Russians (41%) blame the Ukrainian government for continuing hostilities in the east of the country. Seventeen percent of respondents blamed the United States. Russia was blamed for only two percent.

Also, the Russians spoke about the possibility of creating a tribunal to investigate the causes of the crash. Forty-seven percent reacted positively to this idea. Nineteen percent of respondents did not appreciate the proposal. And another third found it difficult to give an answer.

It became known earlier that voting in the UN Security Council on the draft resolution on the establishment of a tribunal proposed by Malaysia and supported by the Netherlands, Ukraine and Australia, was scheduled for July 29.

The Russian authorities have already criticized the intention to establish a tribunal to investigate the circumstances of the Boeing crash. In a conversation with Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte on July 16, Russian President Vladimir Putin called such a sentence premature and counterproductive.

Malaysia Airlines' Boeing-777 aircraft, following the MH17 flight from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur, crashed in the Donetsk region of Ukraine 17 last July. All people aboard 298 died.

Versions

According to the Dutch prosecutor Fred Westerbeke, who is heading the investigation into the crash, the most plausible version of what happened is that the plane was shot down by a missile from the Buk complex.

The Federal Air Transport Agency does not agree with the preliminary conclusions of Dutch investigators. Moscow has also repeatedly suggested that the Boeing could have been shot down by an air-to-air missile.

The results of the official investigation are planned to announce in October of this year.