UPDATE ON MALAYSIA AIRLINE MH17

Russia says its records show a Ukrainian fighter jet was flying near Malaysia Airlines MH17 passenger plane before it was shot down. According to a statement issued by Lieutenant-General Andrei Kartopolov at a press conference on Monday, the passenger plane had deviated north of its planned route and that a Ukrainian SU-25 fighter jet, which is usually armed with air-to-air missiles, had been recorded in the proximity of the Boeing 777.

An altitude gain was recorded for a Ukrainian armed forces plane," the senior Russian officer said at the press conference. "Its distance from the Malaysian Boeing was three to five kilometers (two to three miles)," he said, noting that the SU-25 is capable of reaching an altitude of 10,000 meters "for a brief time." "With what aim was a military plane flying along a civilian aviation route practically at the same time and at the same flight level as a passenger liner?" said Kartopolov. "We would like to receive an answer to this question." He also refuted allegations that Russia had provided pro-Russia protesters with BUK missile launchers. On July 17, Malaysian Airline Flight MH17 was reportedly shot down over Ukraine’s volatile Donetsk region, while travelling to Kuala Lumpur from the Dutch capital Amsterdam. All 298 people on board died. Ukraine and pro-Russia forces accuse each other of firing a surface-to-air missile at the passenger plane. Ukraine launched military operations in the eastern regions of Donetsk and Lugansk in mid-April to crush the pro-Russia protests there. Violence intensified in May after the two flashpoint regions held local referendums, in which their residents voted overwhelmingly in favor of independence from Ukraine