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Blunt Missile Theory Possible: Ukrainian Security Chief
Ukraine did not rule out the possibility that the Russian Tu-154 passenger plane, which crashed into the Black Sea on October 4, was shot down by a Ukrainian missile, Ukrainian National Security Council Secretary Yevhen Marchuk said in Russian Black Sea port of Sochi Thursday.
No possibility, including a blunder missile theory, can be ruled out, Marchuk told a joint news conference with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Rushailo, who heads a state commission investigating the October 4 crash, which killed all 78 people on board. Both of the two security leaders flied to Sochi on Thursday for a final conclusion on the accident.
Marchuk refused to admit it was a Ukrainian missile that hit the plane, saying evaluation of experts rather than speculation was needed in such cases. This issue may be resolved very soon, he added.
A Russian Tu-154 airplane, on route from Tel Aviv to Russian Siberian city of Novosibirsk, exploded and plunged down into the Black Sea coast off Russia on October 4, killing all 78 people on board.
Some Western reports quoted U.S. intelligence officials as saying that the plane was shot down by a Ukrainian S-200 missile fired during military exercises in the Crimean Peninsula, which juts into the Black Sea.
Ukrainian officials strongly denied such allegations, saying that an S-200 was fired ten minutes before the plane would have crossed its trajectory.
But Ukraine's stance appeared to be shifting after a top Russian investigator said Tuesday that experts have found fragments resembling the missile's payload at the Black Sea crash site.
Rushailo confirmed on Thursday that "numerous holes similar in shape" had been found in the hull of the plane, adding that experts were studying the origin of those holes.
An investigation group, including experts from Russia, Ukraine and Israel, is working in Sochi to determine the cause of the tragedy.
Rushailo said search operations are still under way at the crash site. "The entire surface of the crash site has been examined, upper and middle depths have been searched and more than 600 square meters of seabed has been scanned," he said.
Ukrainian President Leonid Kuchma on Thursday turned down the resignation of Defense Minister Alexander Kuzmuk, saying he was waiting for the conclusion of experts.
"But if the military is proved faulty, that will be a different matter. Some body will have to bear responsibility," he said.
The president promised Wednesday to accept any conclusion in the investigation into the mishap, even one that implicates his nation's military.
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