Russian photo of MH17 - Russian state television reportedly released what it claims was a satellite photograph of a Ukrainian fighter jet shooting down Flight MH17. However, the Russian photo of MH17 is being called by the U.S. government as preposterous while online commentators are calling it a fake.
The Russian photo of MH17 was released Friday by Russia's Channel One and Rossiya TV stations. The channels said they acquired the Russian photo of MH1 from a Moscow-based organisation, which received it through email from claiming to be an aviation expert, reports the Associated Press.
The Boeing 777 shot down on 17 July over a rebel-held area of Ukraine was flying from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur. All 298 people, including 80 children, and 15 crew members on the plane died due to the attack.
Since the tragedy, Ukraine and the west have been blaming Russian-backed rebels who allegedly used a ground-to-air missile as the reason for the deaths.
Most of the MH17 crash victims were Dutch. A preliminary report was issued by Dutch crash investigators in September saying that the plane was likely downed by multiple "high-energy objects." Aviation experts say the findings are consistent with a missile strike.
Meanwhile, some people are saying that the Russian photo of MH17 appears to be of a different type than the one shot down, a Boeing 767.
According to The White House, Moscow is trying to "obfuscate the truth and ignore ultimate responsibility for the tragic downing of MH17". It called Moscow and Russia-backed separatists again for access to international investigators to the crash site.
Ukraine's pro-Russia separatist rebels meanwhile denied any involvement in shooting down the plane. However, three hours after the MH17 was shot down, the Associated Press reported a Buk M-1 missile system passing by. A tank-sized machine, it bears four ground-to-air missiles. The photo of it was taken while going through the rebel-held town of Snizhne, which is near the crash site.
Mikhail Leontiev, a Russian TV presenter, said the mysterious source of the Russian photo of MH17 claimed the image shows "how a Mig-29 fighter plane destroys the Boeing passenger plane."
However, quite a few bloggers said the Russian photo of MH17 had been forged. They claim that a cloud pattern and other absurd details prove the photo was taken in 2012.
Russian author Mark Solonin, who is also an engineer by training, has a blog. He wrote in his blog that both aircraft appeared disproportionate to the landscape, adding that their images had only been edited into a satellite picture.
Other citizen journalists said the Russian photo of MH17 was posted on a Russian message board on October 15th, and that they originated from WikiLeaks.
Meanwhile, the Russian television stations which released the Russian photo of MH17 held their original report. They claimed that their source was the Russian Union of Engineers, a Moscow-based organization that previously reported on the Malaysian plane being shot down by Ukrainians.
Ivan Andriyevsky, vice president of the Russian Union of Engineers, said in televised remarks that they received the Russian photo of MH17 via email. A a man claiming to be a graduate of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and with 20 years of experience as an aviation expert reportedly provided the photo.
Andriyevsky could not be reached via telephone and email on Saturday, reports CBC.
For now, some are also saying that the Russian photo of MH17 held was a propaganda effort that aims to draw away criticism from Russian President Vladimir Putin, as he attends the G20 summit in Brisbane.
The timing of the release of the Russian photo of MH17 could not have come at a worse time for the Russian President. During the G20 summit in Brisbane, when Western leaders pressures Putin for the Ukraine crisis, he was faced with a rather cold reception by other world leaders, reports the Daily Mail.
Earlier this week, Putin accused Ukrainians of "constantly shelling" the MH17 crash site, with the West's rising concern that he ordered more military reinforcements to provoke pro-Moscow rebel forces.
Apart from at least 21 trucks, six tanks and 14 howitzer cannons driving through rebel-territory to Donetsk, residents reported sightings of a convoy of 12 unmarked military trucks.
The authenticity of the Russian photo of MH17 remains undetermined.
This article is copyrighted by Travelers Today, the travel news leader
