Russian media networks proudly reported that so-called “rebels” again succeeded in shooting down a Ukrainian airplane. This act corresponded with the pattern of terrorist attacks on Ukrainian aircraft. On June 13th, terrorists shot down a Ukrainian transport plane, killing 40 paratroopers and 9 crew members. On June 24th, they downed a Ukrainian helicopter, killing all 9 on board. On July 14th, terrorists shot down a Ukrainian military cargo plane. On July 16th, terrorists downed a Ukrainian fighter jet. These attacks were praised and touted in the Russian mainstream media, as the victories of the imaginary “Novorussia” over the government of Ukraine.
LifeNews outlet, whose reporters proudly serve on the frontlines alongside terrorists, rushed to the scene. In the meantime, their network announced on Russian television that another Ukrainian plane was shot down by the “rebels.” They also published a corresponding article on their website. Once the network’s reporters discovered that the plane shut down by the terrorists was in fact a civil airliner, the article and the video were promptly removed (although still available here, side by side with the conflicting coverage that followed).
In the first clip, LifeNews proudly announced that “the rebels” successfully downed another Ukrainian plane, AN-26. In the subsequent coverage (on the same day, with the same host, wearing the same clothes), LifeNews claimed that civilian Malaysian airliner was shot down by the Ukrainian military.
It should be noted that since the beginning of this crisis, Ukrainian Air Force has not fired a single missile, despite several alleged violations of their airspace by Russian aircraft. Since Russian terrorists in Eastern Ukraine do not operate any type of aircraft in the area, there is no plausible explanation for the outrageous speculation that Ukrainian military would suddenly attack an airplane. Furthermore, a professional radar operator would have been able to distinguish between a civilian airliner and military aircraft.