Ukraine admits missile downed Russian airliner

Ukrainian Defence Minister Mr Olexander Kuzmuk has acknowledged that a Ukrainian missile sent a Russian airliner crashing into…

Ukrainian Defence Minister Mr Olexander Kuzmuk has acknowledged that a Ukrainian missile sent a Russian airliner crashing into the Black Sea on October 4th, with the death of all 76 passengers and crew.

"We know were are implicated" in the mid-air explosion that brought the plane down, the minister told reporters, adding that the exact cause of the tragedy had not yet been established.

Yesterday Russian investigators concluded that the Tu-154 airliner flying from Tel Aviv to Novosibirsk had been hit by a missile warhead.

"The commission will continue to examine the plane's wreckage and the steel remains of the missile's payload ... to determine the type of missile and its trajectory," Security Council chief Mr Vladimir Rushailo, who led the investigation, told Interfax news agency.

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AFP