What Russians are hearing about Flight 17. -RT

Satellite photo of supposed "Buk" launchers under control of the Ukrainians. -RT

Russian media is reporting that a Su-25 fighter jet was in the area when Malaysian Airlines Flight 17 was shot down. -RT Russians claim the fighter was capable of shooting down the airplane. They also provided satellite images that they claim show "Buk" launchers in the area of the disaster under control of the Ukrainians. Finally they claim that there was unusual activity from Ukrainian radar sets. 

My Comment:

rt.com is run by the Russian government, so they are obviously a very biased source. I thought thought that it would be enlightening to post what the Russians are hearing and what the Russians want the rest of the world to hear. It's obvious propaganda but just because it is propaganda doesn't mean that reading it doesn't help us understand the conflict better. 

As for the specific claims, the one about the Su-25 "Frogfoot" strikes me as ludicrous. The Frogfoot is a ground attack fighter, similar in role to the American A-10 "Warthog" Thunderbolt 2. Yes it can carry air to air missiles but that is not its primary role and the Ukrainians would not use it in this capacity. Second, it has a relatively low flight ceiling so it would be very difficult for it to engage a civilian airliner since they fly so much higher in the air. 

Of course if the report of a Su-25 being in the area happens to be true then a very plausible scenario could have played out. The Russian separatists, using "Buk" launchers that they were not familiar with, saw the Su-25 coming into the area. Somehow they confused Flight 17 with the Su-25 and fired at the wrong plane. With reports that at least three military aircraft had been shot down in a similar manner my guess is they were going for number four but did not confirm their target. That makes a scary amount of sense but I have no way to confirm it. 

As for Russia's claim that there were Ukrainian launchers in the area, I tend to give them more credit. It seems impossible to me that the Ukrainians wouldn't have launchers in the area, like they have claimed. They must have feared an air attack from Russia and indeed claimed that they had already lost one plane to an air to air battle. They would have those launchers near the front line. That, of course, does not mean that they had anything to do with the disaster but I don't think they are being honest either. Indeed, I think it is at least plausible that the rebels did not get the launcher from Russia but took them from Ukraine.

EDIT: CNN has an article that barely mentions these specific claims but does cover the subject. My take is that they are just answering propaganda with propaganda of their own.