Malaysia Air crash: Missile launcher used to down jet likely back in Russia, US official says | Fox News
The missile launcher used to down Malaysia Air flight MH17 is probably back in Russia after it was imported into Ukraine a few weeks ago, a well-placed source with access to the latest intelligence told Fox News Friday night.
Meanwhile, the same source said the missile that brought down the plane, killing all 298 on board, was fired from Schnidze, a town in eastern Ukraine.
"We are building a case," the senior U.S. official told Fox News. "It is damn near bulletproof at this point."
The local separatist commander who likely ordered the strike, Igor Strelkov -- who was heard in some of the phone intercepts released by the Ukrainian Interior Ministry bragging about having brought down the plane -- will likely be punished by Moscow, according to a well-placed source.
The fact the same commander has given interviews stating that some of the body's where already dead, insinuating a conspiracy to set them up says lots.
In effect he knows the evidence that they did it is there and the Russians and Americans know it. Hence its a
PR exercise to create doubt and justify it.
At the moment there is a plane down, bodies rotting in a field and evidence being tampered with in a country that is friendly to us. This is a damning indictment of the state of our nations that there isn't a force on the ground securing the area.
The Ukrainian forces have been neglected, and have done a great job so far considering. Be under no illusions about the rebels having much luck against a well armed and supported western force.
Putin doesn't want to escalate this much, an Invitation by the Ukraine for outside forces to secure the area would see the rebels melt away from that area.