Quote:Russian air force chief Lt. Gen. Igor Makushevsaid that Russian radar had spotted a second aircraft in the ill-fated airliner's vicinity just before the crash and that it was likely a Ukrainian fighter jet. A graphic that Gen. Makushev said was based on radar data depicted four commercial planes in the area shortly before the crash, as well as the alleged Ukrainian fighter jet
Quote:U.S. officials dismissed the Russian government's claim that a second plane was present when Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 was shot down last week as "desperate" propaganda.
U.S. officials didn't provide their own evidence to back their arguments. But they pointed to Ukraine's statements Monday that the country's fighter jets were on the ground at the time of the crash.
Quote:Gen. Makushev said that Russian radars could only spot the aircraft at the point of its ascension because the on-duty radars only detected objects at above 5,000 meters. Russian radars spotted the unidentified plane patrolling in the vicinity of Flight 17, "controlling the development of the situation," he said.
The defense ministry also said it registered the Su-25 fighter jet ascending within close range of several civil aircrafts, including the Malaysia Airlines jet.
Another top military official, Lt. Gen. Andrei Kartapolov, said at the same news conference that the jet came as close as 1.8 miles to Flight 17, which is well within the range of the air-to-air missiles it is usually equipped with.
Quote:He said Russia is prepared to hand all of the information it has to the European authorities, which included satellite imagery and data from its own radar.
Russian defense ministry officials also claimed that a U.S. satellite was spotted at the time of the Flight 17 crash and asked that the U.S. release the satellite images from that time. The U.S. didn't immediately comment on the claim
Source: Wall Street Journal
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