During a White House news conference earlier today, President Barack Obama acknowledged that Malaysia Airlines Flight MH17 was shot down by an antiaircraft missile that was fired from the area controlled by pro-Russian separatists in eastern Ukraine.
Obama's twenty-minute speech for the press covered both Ukraine and Israel. He sent his condolences to those lost in the flight, and also to the Netherlands, Malaysia, and Australia - three close allies that suffered significant losses in the crash. The president also mentioned that at least one American, Quinn Lucas Schansman, was aboard Flight MH17.
He expressed that the available evidence indicates that the plane was downed by a surface-to-air missile launched from an area of eastern Ukraine that is occupied by the Russian-backed separatists. Obama was careful not to assess any blame, but he did acknowledge that the rebels have shot down three Ukrainian aircraft in the past few weeks and believes Vladimir Putin and Russia have not taken the appropriate steps to de-escalate the current state of affairs in Ukraine.
Obama mentioned that he spoke to President Putin yesterday about the issue and the Russian leader said he was not happy with what happened. With that being said, Putin has continued to violate Ukrainian sovereignty by evidently supporting the rebels because it's "not possible for these separatists to function the way they're functioning . . . without sophisticated equipment and sophisticated training, and that is coming from Russia," Obama said at the news conference, via this Washington Post article.
He also mentioned that the United Nations Security Council is endorsing an investigation involving all of the member-states, including Russia. But in order to gain access to the crash site and gather pertinent evidence, the rebels and Ukraine must agree to an immediate cease-fire, which the President believes Putin can achieve with his powerful influence, but has failed to do so thus far. He assured that the United States and other world leaders are going to work to neutralize the violent conflict.
"We will continue to make clear that as Russia engages in efforts that are supporting the separatists that we have the capacity to increase the costs that we impose on them - and we will do so," Obama reiterated, via this New York Times article.
International officials are hopeful the investigation will begin soon so justice can be served.
