British security officials say they have “credible information” that pro-Russian rebels tampered with the crash scene of Malaysian Flight 17 — planting parts from other aircraft at the site in an attempt to foil investigators and push blame for the disaster on Ukrainian forces.
“There is evidence starting to emerge of attempts at tampering with the crash scene, moving bodies and black boxes,” one official said, according to The Times of London.
The official added that rebels interfered with the wreckage in order to strengthen the crash narrative concocted by Russian officials and press, which suggests the Boeing 777 was attacked by a Ukrainian SU-25 fighter that was later shot down by separatists.
“The Russian narrative is to suggest this and then say, ‘Hey, look, here are the bits of a Ukrainian fighter on the site,’ ” he said.
Just last week, Kiev accused Russia of attacking two SU-25 fighter jets near the village of Dmitrovka in eastern Ukraine.
Britain also called out Russia for lying about its involvement in the tragic crash on Saturday, saying it was “highly likely” the plane was shot out of the sky by a Russian missile unleashed from a Russian-supported separatist area in eastern Ukraine.
Britain’s findings were brought to light after a separatist commander confessed the rebels possessed a Russian Buk missile.
Even as Russia has come under fire for its involvement in the plane wreck, the country has continued arming separatists with weapons and supplying military-intelligence personnel, The Times said.
A rebel source insisted the separatists are not “baby-killers” and never intended to harm innocent civilians.
“When the Buk was delivered, the separatists laughed. Who in the hell knows how to use this thing? In fact, it’s much easier than we’d imagined,” the source told The Times.
On Saturday, Russia balked at additional economic sanctions ordered by the European Union in response to Moscow’s involvement in the crash and the crisis in Ukraine.
Russia’s Foreign Ministry also scolded the US for backing Ukraine’s pro-Western leaders.