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Rebels in Ukraine Crowed of Past Attacks, but Deny This One Rebels in Ukraine Crowed of Past Attacks, but Deny This One
(about 1 month later)
GRABOVO, Ukraine — A blast from a shoulder-fired rocket takes down a Ukrainian military transport plane on its landing approach, killing 49 people. Twenty-three Ukrainian soldiers are slaughtered by Russian-made Grad rockets. An AN-26 military plane is shot down at 21,000 feet, an altitude reachable only by a sophisticated surface-to-air missile with radar guidance. GRABOVO, Ukraine — A blast from a shoulder-fired rocket takes down a Ukrainian military transport plane on its landing approach, killing 49 people. Twenty-three Ukrainian soldiers are slaughtered by Russian-made Grad rockets. An AN-26 military plane is shot down at 21,000 feet, an altitude reachable only by a sophisticated surface-to-air missile with radar guidance.
Pro-Russian rebel commanders have made no secret of their pride in carrying out increasingly devastating attacks over the past month, using more advanced weaponry that the United States and its allies say has been provided by Russia. The insurgent leaders have bragged of their successful strikes in interviews and in social media posts — often with links to videos, like one of the AN-26 disintegrating into a streak of white smoke as it fell through the sky.Pro-Russian rebel commanders have made no secret of their pride in carrying out increasingly devastating attacks over the past month, using more advanced weaponry that the United States and its allies say has been provided by Russia. The insurgent leaders have bragged of their successful strikes in interviews and in social media posts — often with links to videos, like one of the AN-26 disintegrating into a streak of white smoke as it fell through the sky.
On Thursday, Ukrainian officials say, that pattern repeated itself — for a time. According to the Ukrainian government, the well-known Russian commander Igor Strelkov — or someone writing under his name — boasted on the Russian version of Facebook about what he thought was the downing of another AN-26. Instead, it turned out to be Malaysia Airlines Flight 17, a civilian jetliner carrying 298 people, including 80 children.On Thursday, Ukrainian officials say, that pattern repeated itself — for a time. According to the Ukrainian government, the well-known Russian commander Igor Strelkov — or someone writing under his name — boasted on the Russian version of Facebook about what he thought was the downing of another AN-26. Instead, it turned out to be Malaysia Airlines Flight 17, a civilian jetliner carrying 298 people, including 80 children.
By Friday the rebels were taking an entirely different tack. Mr. Strelkov’s post had been taken down, and leaders were scoffing at the idea they had weapons with such reach.By Friday the rebels were taking an entirely different tack. Mr. Strelkov’s post had been taken down, and leaders were scoffing at the idea they had weapons with such reach.
“We don’t have the technical ability,” Alexander Borodai, a Russian citizen who is one of the leaders of the Donetsk People’s Republic, said at a briefing on Friday, adding that the Strelkov post was a fabrication by the Ukrainian intelligence services. Mr. Strelkov, too, has denied the post, saying he was not surprised by the government’s “propensity to create frauds.”“We don’t have the technical ability,” Alexander Borodai, a Russian citizen who is one of the leaders of the Donetsk People’s Republic, said at a briefing on Friday, adding that the Strelkov post was a fabrication by the Ukrainian intelligence services. Mr. Strelkov, too, has denied the post, saying he was not surprised by the government’s “propensity to create frauds.”
Sorting out the rebels’ earlier braggadocio from their current denials will now be the task of investigators, who began arriving at the crash scene here on Friday only to find their access blocked in some cases by the militiamen who control the area. Yet, whatever the investigative obstacles, there is little dispute that the rebels have been using increasingly powerful weapons with significant success against ever harder-to-reach targets.Sorting out the rebels’ earlier braggadocio from their current denials will now be the task of investigators, who began arriving at the crash scene here on Friday only to find their access blocked in some cases by the militiamen who control the area. Yet, whatever the investigative obstacles, there is little dispute that the rebels have been using increasingly powerful weapons with significant success against ever harder-to-reach targets.
One commander of a rebel unit in Donetsk acknowledged that separatist forces possess a Russian-made antiaircraft system known as the Buk, but insisted that it lacked operational capability.One commander of a rebel unit in Donetsk acknowledged that separatist forces possess a Russian-made antiaircraft system known as the Buk, but insisted that it lacked operational capability.
“We did not shoot down that plane,” the commander said in an interview. “The Ukrainians just need more precedent to bring NATO here.”“We did not shoot down that plane,” the commander said in an interview. “The Ukrainians just need more precedent to bring NATO here.”
The commander claimed that rebel forces had seized the missile system from a Ukrainian military installation, a development reported by Russian news media in late June. The Ukrainian government has denied losing such a system.The commander claimed that rebel forces had seized the missile system from a Ukrainian military installation, a development reported by Russian news media in late June. The Ukrainian government has denied losing such a system.
The rebels’ tactics are becoming facts of life in the area near Torez, a coal-mining town in an area that has taken a beating in recent weeks, as insurgents have fired Grad rockets, and Ukrainians have struck back, often with air power.The rebels’ tactics are becoming facts of life in the area near Torez, a coal-mining town in an area that has taken a beating in recent weeks, as insurgents have fired Grad rockets, and Ukrainians have struck back, often with air power.
Residents said planes fly over several times a day, and even on the night that the airliner was shot down, as its fuselage was engulfed in flames in a dark field, the night sky lit up with flashes of fighting near Torez and Snizhne.Residents said planes fly over several times a day, and even on the night that the airliner was shot down, as its fuselage was engulfed in flames in a dark field, the night sky lit up with flashes of fighting near Torez and Snizhne.
Lyubov Valentinovna, a stout woman in a brown sweater, said she heard rebel firing most nights now and could sometimes see the rockets fly by from her sixth-story balcony on the edge of Torez.Lyubov Valentinovna, a stout woman in a brown sweater, said she heard rebel firing most nights now and could sometimes see the rockets fly by from her sixth-story balcony on the edge of Torez.
“I see the smoke from the Grads,” Ms. Valentinovna said. The fighting has been so intense, she said, that she is starting to be able to distinguish among specific rockets. “We’re becoming specialists,” she said, laughing.“I see the smoke from the Grads,” Ms. Valentinovna said. The fighting has been so intense, she said, that she is starting to be able to distinguish among specific rockets. “We’re becoming specialists,” she said, laughing.
Despite the rebels’ denial of any involvement in the passenger jet disaster, the downing of the relatively high-flying AN-26 on Monday suggests that the insurgents have access to weaponry that could have hit the Malaysian passenger jet, which was flying higher still.Despite the rebels’ denial of any involvement in the passenger jet disaster, the downing of the relatively high-flying AN-26 on Monday suggests that the insurgents have access to weaponry that could have hit the Malaysian passenger jet, which was flying higher still.
In Kiev, the government insisted that the initial posts on social media, then their quick removal as the scope of the civilian tragedy became clear, provided proof nearly beyond a reasonable doubt of the rebels’ guilt — and of the Kremlin’s complicity in arming and assisting them.In Kiev, the government insisted that the initial posts on social media, then their quick removal as the scope of the civilian tragedy became clear, provided proof nearly beyond a reasonable doubt of the rebels’ guilt — and of the Kremlin’s complicity in arming and assisting them.
That the redactions and revisions were followed by an aggressive push in Russia’s largely government-controlled news media to portray the Ukrainian government as responsible for the disaster only added to Ukrainian officials’ certainty about the rebels’ — and Russia’s — culpability.That the redactions and revisions were followed by an aggressive push in Russia’s largely government-controlled news media to portray the Ukrainian government as responsible for the disaster only added to Ukrainian officials’ certainty about the rebels’ — and Russia’s — culpability.
Government officials also played audio recordings that they said captured a Russian fighter pilot speaking with superiors at a Russian air base on Wednesday as he engaged in a dogfight with Ukrainian fighter jets in Ukrainian airspace. They previously released what they said were audio recordings of separatists who seemed to be discussing with a Russian military intelligence officer how the civilian airliner had been shot down after being mistaken for a military plane — a mistake that they regarded with evident dismay.Government officials also played audio recordings that they said captured a Russian fighter pilot speaking with superiors at a Russian air base on Wednesday as he engaged in a dogfight with Ukrainian fighter jets in Ukrainian airspace. They previously released what they said were audio recordings of separatists who seemed to be discussing with a Russian military intelligence officer how the civilian airliner had been shot down after being mistaken for a military plane — a mistake that they regarded with evident dismay.
Eastern Ukraine, meanwhile, remains an active and dangerous combat zone, and the conflict is not just a battle of rockets and mortar shells, but also an information war, in which each side is maneuvering constantly for a public relations advantage and the moral upper hand.Eastern Ukraine, meanwhile, remains an active and dangerous combat zone, and the conflict is not just a battle of rockets and mortar shells, but also an information war, in which each side is maneuvering constantly for a public relations advantage and the moral upper hand.
Ukraine has accused Russia of waging a propaganda campaign, and it has fought back with a barrage of its own spin. Ukraine is especially reliant on public relations because it has limited military intelligence capabilities. It has been relying on the United States and other Western allies for satellite imagery and other advanced intelligence-gathering tools.Ukraine has accused Russia of waging a propaganda campaign, and it has fought back with a barrage of its own spin. Ukraine is especially reliant on public relations because it has limited military intelligence capabilities. It has been relying on the United States and other Western allies for satellite imagery and other advanced intelligence-gathering tools.
But even as the United States strongly endorsed Ukraine’s version of events — with the American ambassador to the United Nations, Samantha Power, telling the Security Council on Friday that the missile that struck the jet came from rebel-controlled territory and appeared to be Russian-made — the mostly pro-Russian residents of the war-torn east were not convinced.But even as the United States strongly endorsed Ukraine’s version of events — with the American ambassador to the United Nations, Samantha Power, telling the Security Council on Friday that the missile that struck the jet came from rebel-controlled territory and appeared to be Russian-made — the mostly pro-Russian residents of the war-torn east were not convinced.
That was certainly the case in a cluster of tidy houses with concrete walls, metal gates and messy gardens in Grabovo, a village where most people were coming to the opposite conclusion. Rebels are part of the fabric of society here. They are people’s friends, relatives and neighbors, and few residents seemed willing to believe that they were capable of such a high-precision and monstrous act.That was certainly the case in a cluster of tidy houses with concrete walls, metal gates and messy gardens in Grabovo, a village where most people were coming to the opposite conclusion. Rebels are part of the fabric of society here. They are people’s friends, relatives and neighbors, and few residents seemed willing to believe that they were capable of such a high-precision and monstrous act.
Katya Ivanovna, 62, who was milking her cow when the plane came down, scoffed at the idea that the rebels had done it. “Ha, they barely have clothes,” she said, referring to their often threadbare existence. “They can’t even protect us.”Katya Ivanovna, 62, who was milking her cow when the plane came down, scoffed at the idea that the rebels had done it. “Ha, they barely have clothes,” she said, referring to their often threadbare existence. “They can’t even protect us.”
But even here, there were doubters.But even here, there were doubters.
“It was a rocket, I’m sure of it,” said Victor, a miner who spoke in a hushed tone, an indication of the unpopularity of his theory. He said he believed that the rocket had come from the area around the village of Snizhne, where the Ukrainians have been bombing rebel positions frequently since early this month.“It was a rocket, I’m sure of it,” said Victor, a miner who spoke in a hushed tone, an indication of the unpopularity of his theory. He said he believed that the rocket had come from the area around the village of Snizhne, where the Ukrainians have been bombing rebel positions frequently since early this month.
Another villager, Sergei, who was 15 and too afraid to give his last name, said he was swimming in a nearby river when he saw what appeared to be a rocket being launched into the sky. He said he jumped out of the water, hopped on his motorbike and sped home.Another villager, Sergei, who was 15 and too afraid to give his last name, said he was swimming in a nearby river when he saw what appeared to be a rocket being launched into the sky. He said he jumped out of the water, hopped on his motorbike and sped home.