Grabovo: The scale of the disaster affecting scores of foreigners could prove a turning point for international pressure to resolve a crisis that has claimed hundreds of lives in Ukraine since pro-Western protests toppled the Moscow-backed president in Kiev in February and Russia annexed Crimea a month later.
The Kremlin said President Vladimir Putin and US President Barack Obama — at loggerheads over a new wave of US sanctions over Ukraine — had discussed the crash.
Mr Obama called it a “terrible tragedy” and said US officials were trying to establish if any Americans were on board.
“MH-17 is not an incident or catastrophe, it is a terrorist attack,” Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko tweeted.
US Vice President Joe Biden told Mr Poroshenko the United States was ready to help probe the crash of a Malaysian Airlines plane in eastern Ukraine.
Several Ukrainian planes and helicopters have been shot down in four months of fighting in the area. Ukraine had said an An-26 was shot down on Monday and one of its Sukhoi Su-25 fighters was downed on Wednesday by an air-to-air missile — Kiev’s strongest accusation yet of direct Russian involvement, since the rebels do not appear to have access to aircraft.
The loss of MH-17 is the second disaster for Malaysia Airlines this year, following the mysterious loss of flight MH-370. It disappeared in March with 239 passengers and crew on board on its way from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing.
Flashback: 3 jets shot
Three civilian jets have been shot down by hostile fire in the past. Two of the incidents involve the erstwhile Soviet Union.
April 20, 1978: Korean Air Flight 902, Paris to Seoul, strayed over the Soviet Union. Fired upon by an interceptor aircraft, the crew made a forced landing at night on the surface of a frozen lake. Two of the 97 passengers killed.
Sept. 1, 1983: Korean Air Flight 007 shot down by USSR after the 747 had strayed into Soviet airspace. All 240 passengers and 29 crew killed.
July 3, 1988: Iran Air Flight 655 shot down by American naval vessel USS Vincennes minutes after take-off. All 16 crew and 274 passengers were killed.
Was it shot?
2001: Ukraine admitted its military was probably responsible for shooting a Russian airliner that crashed into the Black Sea, killing all 78 on board.
