The Basics of the MH17 Disaster and What It Could Mean

The destruction of MH17 is a tragedy that no one could have expected. Flying from Amsterdam, Netherlands to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia took the plane directly over warring Ukraine. Soon after entering Western Ukraine radio contact was lost, after that it was discovered shot down near the Russian border in Eastern Ukraine. The crash has forced a bigger issue out into the open, and that is the fighting in Ukraine.

To start off the question of why a missile was even available for launch in Ukraine has to be asked. Following on the heels of Ukraine's February revolution, in which they made radical changes to their government and who was a part of it, Russia began to annex the Crimean Peninsula. During the fighting three powers became involved; first is the Ukrainian military that is trying to regain control of the peninsula, next are the Pro-Russian separatists wishing to join together with Russia, and lastly is the Russian military.

The missile, a Buk surface-to-air missile, was launched in separatist controlled space. The Buk missile system is developed by the Russian government for use in taking out airborne missiles, bombs, and other aircrafts at a medium range. Though it was launched from separatist controlled space it does not mean that they themselves are the ones to blame, but the implications are strong. Several US officials have stated that they believe that the Russian government has been involved with or pulling the strings of the separatists.

International investigation agencies had a great deal of difficulty entering the six mile wide crash site. Being kept away from the crash site made it impossible to both investigate and collect the deceased. Separatists were initially saying that they did not have the plane's black boxes, but four days after the crash the group gave the two devices back. After the boxes were handed over the separatist's leader, Alexander Borodai, wanted everyone to know that they had nothing to do with the crash and that they were "serious" about the whole affair. That is a nice sentiment, but their earlier actions act counter to what they say.

If separatists are proven to be the culprit behind the attack, an already enraged world will demand that they be rooted out and dealt with. If Russia is indeed helping the separatists than that could blow the situation even further out of control. Currently the US has been sending sanction against Russia to force them to back out from the conflict in the Ukraine. Even though the sanctions have been mounting against them Putin refuses to back down, leaving people to wonder how far he is willing to go.

Thanks to this attack and Russia's current refusal to leave Ukraine alone, they have forced themselves on a powder keg. A worst case scenario could lead to an international war, a best case is they willingly excuse themselves from the conflicts and the perpetrators are handled accordingly. The most likely scenario is an international investigation occurs, officials from Ukraine and Russia are indicted, and relations in the Europe can be allowed to mend.