It goes just as I expected, as much as I hate to say that. What we know for sure is that someone shot down a Malaysian passenger plane over east Ukraine using a surface-to-air missile. Thing is, whoever did it, they could never admit it.
Taking down a civilian plane full of citizens from developed countries over a conflict zone is either very stupid or very risky. Mostly both.
If the missile wasn’t intended for the plane, then whoever pulled the trigger made a huge fuckup that will become a bomb thrown into the already blistering conflict in the area. If it was intentionally taken down, then whoever did it must have did it with the obvious intention of blaming the other side, even providing “evidence” to back their claims.
Which is exactly why I’m more than doubtful when just a few minutes after the event blasted onto Twitter, there were already people retweeting supposed phone call logs from an Ukrainian separatist leader who supposedly ordered the missile launch. Which is exactly why I’m more than doubtful when there are voice recordings of the aforementioned “phone calls” supposedly “intercepted” by the Kiev authorities, even if online papers publish them like facts.
Of course all the “evidence” points against the separatists who are backed by Russia, Putin’s notorious tzardom. Of course no one in the “west” will take whatever the Russians say seriously, considering their involvement in the conflict and their already tainted reputation.
Thing is, if the takedown was intentional, it was a very risky move. If it turns out to have been done by the Kiev authorities, then they will pretty much instantly lose all support of the west, while the Russian side gets a very valid point why there is need for the Siberian Bear to protect ethnic Russians in the area.
On the other side, if it was the separatists who launched the missile, then that will solidify the stance of the west in their opposition. Their cause will also take a huge blow, as they will be considered brutal terrorists, killing civilians not related to the conflict in any way, instead of an ethnic separatist group fighting a desperate battle. Russia won’t be able to back them so openly either.
I’d rather if the missile wasn’t launched at all.