As Dutch mourn, two fighter jets downed
Some of the victims’ bodies from Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 were flown from Ukraine to the Netherlands Wednesday. Meanwhile, separatist rebels shot down two Ukrainian fighter jets, casting fresh doubt on their claims they weren’t responsible for last wee
SOLEMN CEREMONY
The bodies returned to Dutch soil in 40 wooden coffins, solemnly and gently carried to 40 identical hearses, flags at half-staff flapping in the wind. From the airport, they were driven under military police escort to the central city of Hilversum, where forensic experts were waiting at a military barracks to carry out the painstaking task of identifying the remains. Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte said many bodies could be identified quickly and returned to their loved ones, but some families may have to wait weeks for a positive identification.
JETS SHOT DOWN
Pro-Russian rebels fought to hang on to territory — and shot down two Ukrainian fighter jets. Ukraine’s Defence Ministry said the Su-25s were hit about 30 kilometres south of the wreckage from the Malaysian jet. The separatist group Donetsk People’s Republic said on its website that one of the pilots was killed and another was being sought by rebel fighters. White House deputy national security adviser Ben Rhodes said Wednesday’s attack was another indication the separatists have the capability to bring down aircraft. “The only aircraft they’re not taking responsibility for is MH17,” Rhodes said. “But I don’t think anybody believes that. How could anybody believe anything that the separatists or Russia says about this when we see a clear pattern of threatening Ukrainian aircraft in eastern Ukraine?”
REBELS RETREAT
One rebel leader, Pavel Gubarev, wrote on his Facebook page that 30 rebels were injured during fighting with Ukrainian forces and his men had retreated from the villages of Chervona Zorya and Kozhevnya, on the Russian border, about 45 kilometres from the crash site.
BLACK BOXES EXAMINED
Investigators in a lab in southern England began studying the plane’s black box recorders in hopes of finding clues to what happened. The Dutch Safety Board, which has taken control of the investigation, said the voice recorder suffered damage but showed no sign of manipulation, and recordings were intact.
SANCTIONS MULLED
At the White House, Rhodes said Washington is weighing additional economic sanctions that could be levied on Russia if it continues to arm the separatists. He left open the possibility that the U.S. could implement those penalties unilaterally, before the European Union potentially deepens its own sanctions regime against Russia. The U.S. has sought to levy sanctions in co-ordination with the EU, but officials have become increasingly frustrated with Europe’s reluctance to approve penalties that could cut deeply into Russia’s key economic sectors. European leaders fear their strong trade ties with Russia could make their own economies vulnerable to the fallout of such sanctions.