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| 2 Ukrainian Fighter Jets Shot Down as Fighting Intensifies | |
| (about 2 hours later) | |
| SNIZHNE, Ukraine — Two Ukrainian Su-25 fighter jets were shot down on Wednesday in eastern Ukraine near the Russian border. The planes were downed in an area of heavy fighting between government forces and Russian-backed separatists, near where a Malaysia Airlines jet was blown out of the sky last week, killing 298 people and drawing international dismay. | |
| The Ukrainian government said the two fighter jets had been brought down near the village of Dmytrivka, east of Donetsk and about five miles from the Russian border, where government troops have been pushing hard to cut off the flow of fighters and supplies from Russia to the insurgents. | The Ukrainian government said the two fighter jets had been brought down near the village of Dmytrivka, east of Donetsk and about five miles from the Russian border, where government troops have been pushing hard to cut off the flow of fighters and supplies from Russia to the insurgents. |
| The government said the pilots of the fighter jets ejected safely. Government forces and insurgents appeared to be racing on Wednesday to find them. | |
| Andriy Lysenko, a spokesman for the Ukrainian National Security and Defense Council, said the two jets had been hit by fire from the Russian side of the border. “The planes were shot down from Russian territory,” Mr. Lysenko said in a statement on Twitter. | |
| The accusation, which could not be independently verified, carries potentially serious diplomatic consequences, given the accusations by Ukraine and the United States that Russia supplied insurgents with the SA-11 surface-to-air missile system that brought down Malaysia Airlines Flight 17. | |
| Andrei Purgin, a senior separatist leader in Donetsk, said rebel forces had shot down the two fighter planes using portable shoulder-fired missiles. He said that the planes had been in an active war zone, and that the Ukrainian military had continued to bomb rebel forces despite promises that military activity in the area would cease. “They haven’t stopped for one minute,” he said. | Andrei Purgin, a senior separatist leader in Donetsk, said rebel forces had shot down the two fighter planes using portable shoulder-fired missiles. He said that the planes had been in an active war zone, and that the Ukrainian military had continued to bomb rebel forces despite promises that military activity in the area would cease. “They haven’t stopped for one minute,” he said. |
| Ukrainian officials have said that two other military aircraft — an An-26 transport and another Su-25 fighter — were shot down last week with direct involvement by Russia. They said that the missile that destroyed the transport had been fired from Russian territory, and that the fighter was destroyed in a dogfight with a MiG-29 fighter that crossed into Ukrainian air space to engage Ukrainian aircraft. Russia denied both accusations, and the insurgents insisted that they had brought down the transport on their own. | Ukrainian officials have said that two other military aircraft — an An-26 transport and another Su-25 fighter — were shot down last week with direct involvement by Russia. They said that the missile that destroyed the transport had been fired from Russian territory, and that the fighter was destroyed in a dogfight with a MiG-29 fighter that crossed into Ukrainian air space to engage Ukrainian aircraft. Russia denied both accusations, and the insurgents insisted that they had brought down the transport on their own. |
| The An-26 had been flying at an altitude of more than 10,000 feet, well beyond the range of the surface-to-air rockets previously fired by insurgents, including the munitions that destroyed an Ilyushin-76 military transport as it landed in Luhansk in mid-June, killing 49. Ukrainian officials said the destruction of the An-26 showed that the insurgents had obtained and were using powerful weapons like the SA-11 that is believed to have been used against the Malaysia Airlines plane. | The An-26 had been flying at an altitude of more than 10,000 feet, well beyond the range of the surface-to-air rockets previously fired by insurgents, including the munitions that destroyed an Ilyushin-76 military transport as it landed in Luhansk in mid-June, killing 49. Ukrainian officials said the destruction of the An-26 showed that the insurgents had obtained and were using powerful weapons like the SA-11 that is believed to have been used against the Malaysia Airlines plane. |
| Heavy ground combat on Wednesday made it difficult for journalists to approach Dmytrivka, where the two fighter jets were downed. | Heavy ground combat on Wednesday made it difficult for journalists to approach Dmytrivka, where the two fighter jets were downed. |
| At a small checkpoint by a cornfield about six miles away, a rebel fighter who identified himself as a 41-year-old coal miner said he saw the two planes come down about noon. He said the fighter jets had been flying low, apparently to drop a payload, when they were hit and the pilots bailed out. The man said rebel fighters were searching for the pilots in the surrounding fields. | At a small checkpoint by a cornfield about six miles away, a rebel fighter who identified himself as a 41-year-old coal miner said he saw the two planes come down about noon. He said the fighter jets had been flying low, apparently to drop a payload, when they were hit and the pilots bailed out. The man said rebel fighters were searching for the pilots in the surrounding fields. |
| “It is a hunt,” he said, looking to the east toward the site. “They’re lying in the corn. It could take all night.” As he spoke, more fighter jets buzzed overhead, but they did not drop any bombs. | “It is a hunt,” he said, looking to the east toward the site. “They’re lying in the corn. It could take all night.” As he spoke, more fighter jets buzzed overhead, but they did not drop any bombs. |
| By contrast, Mr. Lysenko, the Ukrainian military spokesman, said the two fighters that were brought down Wednesday were flying at an altitude of 5,200 meters, or more than 17,000 feet, putting them beyond the typical range of shoulder-fired antiaircraft missiles. | By contrast, Mr. Lysenko, the Ukrainian military spokesman, said the two fighters that were brought down Wednesday were flying at an altitude of 5,200 meters, or more than 17,000 feet, putting them beyond the typical range of shoulder-fired antiaircraft missiles. |
| The loss of the two jets was a significant blow to the Ukrainian military, which has a limited amount of air power, much of it inherited from the breakup of the Soviet Union. | The loss of the two jets was a significant blow to the Ukrainian military, which has a limited amount of air power, much of it inherited from the breakup of the Soviet Union. |
| The episode was part of a wider intensification of fighting on Wednesday. Government troops retook two cities in the Luhansk region and continued to push aggressively from the north and west, officials said, while rebel forces blew up a road bridge, a railroad bridge and train tracks in the city of Horlivka. Ukrainian forces are struggling hard to seal the porous border with Russia, not just near Dmytrivka, but also farther north at crossings that have been the scenes of fierce battles. | The episode was part of a wider intensification of fighting on Wednesday. Government troops retook two cities in the Luhansk region and continued to push aggressively from the north and west, officials said, while rebel forces blew up a road bridge, a railroad bridge and train tracks in the city of Horlivka. Ukrainian forces are struggling hard to seal the porous border with Russia, not just near Dmytrivka, but also farther north at crossings that have been the scenes of fierce battles. |
| The Ukrainian government also said it had shot down a Russian-made Orlan-10 surveillance drone near Amvrosiivka, about 30 miles from Dmytrivka. A similar drone was reported downed by the Ukrainians in late May. | |
| Mr. Lysenko said Russia had placed more troops along the border and that cross-border gunfire had increased. | Mr. Lysenko said Russia had placed more troops along the border and that cross-border gunfire had increased. |
| The bodies of victims from Flight 17, which were relinquished on Tuesday by the rebels who control the crash site, began arriving on Wednesday at a military base in Eindhoven, the Netherlands. Two military transport aircraft, one Dutch and one Australian, landed there at midafternoon carrying 40 wooden coffins, which were greeted with a minute’s silence by dignitaries and others at the base, led by King Willem-Alexander, Queen Maxima and Prime Minister Mark Rutte. Two-thirds of the people on board the downed jetliner were from the Netherlands. | The bodies of victims from Flight 17, which were relinquished on Tuesday by the rebels who control the crash site, began arriving on Wednesday at a military base in Eindhoven, the Netherlands. Two military transport aircraft, one Dutch and one Australian, landed there at midafternoon carrying 40 wooden coffins, which were greeted with a minute’s silence by dignitaries and others at the base, led by King Willem-Alexander, Queen Maxima and Prime Minister Mark Rutte. Two-thirds of the people on board the downed jetliner were from the Netherlands. |
| The identities of the bodies were not yet known. Ukraine and Malaysia have authorized the Netherlands to identify and repatriate all the recovered remains from the crash, which could take months. | The identities of the bodies were not yet known. Ukraine and Malaysia have authorized the Netherlands to identify and repatriate all the recovered remains from the crash, which could take months. |
| Before the remains left the country, officials and foreign diplomats at the Ukrainian air base in Kharkiv mixed tributes to the dead with angry demands that those responsible for the downing of the plane be brought to justice. | Before the remains left the country, officials and foreign diplomats at the Ukrainian air base in Kharkiv mixed tributes to the dead with angry demands that those responsible for the downing of the plane be brought to justice. |
| “This is a tragedy of unspeakable proportions,” an Australian representative, Angus Houston, said at the gathering, flanked by a Ukrainian military honor guard dressed in black uniforms. Four coffins were carried by officers from the Kiev Military Academy, dressed in blue uniforms with yellow braid, the colors of the Ukrainian flag. | “This is a tragedy of unspeakable proportions,” an Australian representative, Angus Houston, said at the gathering, flanked by a Ukrainian military honor guard dressed in black uniforms. Four coffins were carried by officers from the Kiev Military Academy, dressed in blue uniforms with yellow braid, the colors of the Ukrainian flag. |
| The Ukrainian vice prime minister, Volodymyr Groysman, said, “Those who are guilty for this terrorist act will be punished.” | The Ukrainian vice prime minister, Volodymyr Groysman, said, “Those who are guilty for this terrorist act will be punished.” |
| Mr. Groysman left no doubt that Ukraine believed that the guilty parties included not only the insurgents in eastern Ukraine but also the Russian government. “Russian military personnel launched the missile that hit a civilian Malaysian aircraft,” he said. “We are today sending off innocents who were murdered.” | Mr. Groysman left no doubt that Ukraine believed that the guilty parties included not only the insurgents in eastern Ukraine but also the Russian government. “Russian military personnel launched the missile that hit a civilian Malaysian aircraft,” he said. “We are today sending off innocents who were murdered.” |
| Foreign officials at the ceremony in Kharkiv also called for justice, but did not say whom they blamed for the crash. | |
| The Russian government did not immediately comment on the downed fighter planes. But a spokesman for the Russian Foreign Ministry issued a forceful statement on Wednesday accusing the Ukrainian government of making false accusations against Russia, specifically in relation to the downed passenger jet. | The Russian government did not immediately comment on the downed fighter planes. But a spokesman for the Russian Foreign Ministry issued a forceful statement on Wednesday accusing the Ukrainian government of making false accusations against Russia, specifically in relation to the downed passenger jet. |
| “Instead of cooperating with a thorough and unbiased international investigation into the causes of the accident, the results of which would then be made public, with maximum transparency, the Kiev authorities daily and hourly come up with new, absurd and absolutely groundless accusations against Russia,” said the spokesman, Alexander Lukashevich. | |
| He also accused Ukraine of obstructing the investigation into the crash, and of killing civilians during its military operations in the east. | He also accused Ukraine of obstructing the investigation into the crash, and of killing civilians during its military operations in the east. |
| “Kiev does not want to heed the voice of reason and agree on a cease-fire,” Mr. Lukashevich said. “Strikes using heavy weapons are being delivered on populated areas, including those in the direct vicinity of the plane crash site.” | “Kiev does not want to heed the voice of reason and agree on a cease-fire,” Mr. Lukashevich said. “Strikes using heavy weapons are being delivered on populated areas, including those in the direct vicinity of the plane crash site.” |
| The site was almost completely deserted on Wednesday, according to Michael Bociurkiw, a spokesman for the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe. “There’s no one out here,” he said. | |
| Malaysian experts pored over smaller pieces of wreckage for a second day, and expressed surprise “at how much access we have,” Mr. Bociurkiw added, but as for other foreign experts, “it’s not like our door is being broken down.” |