A top pro-Russia rebel commander
in eastern Ukraine has given a bizarre version of events surrounding
the Malaysian jetliner crash — suggesting many of the victims may have
died days before the plane took off.
The
pro-rebel website Russkaya Vesna on Friday quoted Igor Girkin as saying
he was told by people at the crash site that "a significant number of
the bodies weren't fresh," adding that he was told they were drained of
blood and reeked of decomposition.
The
Malaysia Airlines Boeing-777 was shot down Thursday, killing all 298
people aboard. The plane was flying 10,000 meters above an area where
Ukrainian forces have been fighting separatist rebels. Each side accuses
the other of downing the plane.
U.S.
intelligence authorities said a surface-to-air missile brought down the
plane, and U.S. Ambassador Samantha Power told the U.N. Security
Council in New York on Friday that the missile was likely fired from a
rebel-held area near the Russian border.
Girkin,
also known as Strelkov and allegedly a former Russian military
intelligence agent, said he couldn't confirm the information. But it's
sure to add to the intense emotions surrounding the crash, with the
rebels accused of shooting down the plane.
Girkin said "Ukrainian authorities are capable of any baseness."
He claimed that a large amount of blood serum and medications were found in the wreckage.
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