Pro-Russian rebels shoot down large Ukrainian transport plane, killing dozens

http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/pro-russian-rebels-shoot-down-large-ukrainian-transport-plane-killing-dozens/2014/06/14/67e673e2-f391-11e3-914c-1fbd0614e2d4_story.html



Residents look over destroyed vehicles at the site of fighting in the eastern Ukrainian port city of Mariupol on June 13. Ukrainian forces reclaimed the city from pro-Russian separatists in heavy fighting Friday

Pro-Russian rebels shoot down large Ukrainian transport plane, killing dozens
By Carol Morello June 14 at 7:14 AM

KIEV, Ukraine — In the biggest single loss of life since Ukraine started battling pro-Russian separatists, rebels shot down a military transport plane early Saturday morning as it was landing in Luhansk, killing all 49 people aboard.

Rebels using an anti-aircraft weapon and large-caliber machine gun downed the Ilyushin-76, according to a statement by the Defense Ministry. The statement said the aircraft, which was carrying equipment and food as well as military personnel who were being flown in as part of a routine rotation, was approaching the city airport in Luhansk, a separatist stronghold. While the rebels control most of the city, the army has control of the airport.

Russian officials did not immediately react to the attack, but Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said Saturday that negotiations would be impossible so long as the Ukrainian military continues its activity in the east.

“Rather than extending a hand to these people, inviting them to the negotiating table and agreeing on how to continue to live in the country all together, the military operation continues,” Lavrov said on Russia television. “Naturally, under the roar of cannon fire, shelling and strikes from combat aircraft, such dialogue is impossible.”