Ukrainian separatist leader pretty much admits rebels used Russian missile on MH17 [View all]

[geek tragedy]

Remember how the Russians INSISTED that only Ukraine's government had Buk missile systems that were working in the area?

Turns out, that lie was too much even for the only Ukrainian-born separatist commander in the area. While still finding a way to blame Ukraine's government, he admits:

1) Rebels had the missiles
2) rebels probably got the missile from Russia
2) Rebels probably shot the plane down
3) rebels probably sent the missile back to Russia to conceal proof of their involvement

http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/07/23/us-ukraine-crisis-commander-exclusive-idUSKBN0FS1V920140723

In an interview with Reuters, Alexander Khodakovsky, commander of the Vostok Battalion, acknowledged for the first time since the airliner was brought down in eastern Ukraine on Thursday that the rebels did possess the BUK missile system.

...

"I knew that a BUK came from Luhansk. At the time I was told that a BUK from Luhansk was coming under the flag of the LNR," he said, referring to the Luhansk People’s Republic, the main rebel group operating in Luhansk, one of two rebel provinces along with Donetsk, the province where the crash took place.

"That BUK I know about. I heard about it. I think they sent it back. Because I found out about it at exactly the moment that I found out that this tragedy had taken place. They probably sent it back in order to remove proof of its presence," Khodakovsky told Reuters on Tuesday.

...

"They knew that this BUK existed; that the BUK was heading for Snezhnoye," he said, referring to a village 10 km (six miles) west of the crash site. "They knew that it would be deployed there, and provoked the use of this BUK by starting an air strike on a target they didn’t need, that their planes hadn’t touched for a week."

Why go against Moscow and the Russian-born militiamen? A combination of factionalism and just maybe conscience.

Khodakovsky is a former head of the "Alpha" anti-terrorism unit of the security service in Donetsk, and one of the few major rebel commanders in Donetsk who actually hails from Ukraine rather than Russia.

There has been friction in the past between him and rebel leaders from outside the region, such as Igor Strelkov, the Muscovite who has declared himself commander of all rebel forces in Donetsk province.

...

He added: "I am an interested party. I am a ‘terrorist’, a ‘separatist’, a volunteer ... In any event, I am required to promote the side I represent, even if I might think otherwise, say otherwise or have an alternative view. This causes real discomfort to my soul."

sufrommich and bosonic
http://www.democraticunderground.com/1014853729
http://www.democraticunderground.com/1014853730