Very cute, but no cigar.
(18:20) Reports: Ukrainian army shot down plane By Jerusalem Post Internet Staff, Ap
It is being reported here that the Ukranian army may have fired a missile that shot down the Sibir Airlines plane that crashed into the Black Sea this afternoon en route from Israel to Siberia.
A senior Ukranian nayy officer, Igor Larichev, said the missile accidentally hit the plane that was carrying some 75 - 77 passengers and crew.
However, a short time later, Ukraine's Defense Ministry issued a statement denying that it fired a missile that was capable of hitting the plane.
It is understood the Ukrainian army may have fired some 20 missiles today as part of military exercises in the area of the Black Sea.
"All the rockets used during the training exercise had guaranteed service lives and self-destruction mechanisms in case they deviated from their course," said Defense Minister Oleksandr Kuzmuk, according to a statement released by ministry spokesman Kostyantyn Khivrenko.
A U.S. Defense Department official in Washington, speaking on condition of anonymity, said a land-based surface-to-air missile had been fired from the Crimean region of Ukraine.
Ukraine is the only country known to be conducting military exercises in the Black Sea area, the official said.
The downing of the airliner appeared to be accidental, the U.S. officials said.
Romanian and French pilots are also taking part in an air exercise in the region of Romania's Black Sea port of Constanta, Romanian officials have said. The exercise apparently includes the firing of air-to-ground missiles.
The Ukrainian exercises were conducted on Cape Onuk, in Crimea, about 250 kilometers (160 miles) from the site of the crash, on territory controlled by the Russian Black Sea Fleet.
Ukrainian anti-aircraft, navy, rocket forces, aviation and artillery took part as well as Russian forces including shore-based forces and a guard ship.
Part of the exercise involved firing on an unmanned aircraft.
According to military officials, the exercise included anti-aircraft S-125, S-200 and S-300 rockets, which are similar to U.S. "Patriot" missiles, and R-300 tactical rockets.
"The direction of the firing and the distance do not correspond to the plane's explosion site either in theory or in practice. All the hits by the rockets used during the exercise were recorded by corresponding devices and reached their targets," Khivrenko, the Ukrainian defense spokesman, said.
"Moreover, the monitoring means of Ukraine's Air Defense Forces as well as those of the Ukrainian air traffic control did not record the presence of any civilian aircraft in the exercise area during the maneuvers."
He said that the targets were at a distance of 35-39 kilometers (21-24 miles).
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Putin says he remains unconvinced that the plane was hit by accident.
Russia Denies That Tu-154 was hit by Ukrainian Missile
SEVASTOPOL, Oct 04, 2001 (Itar-Tass via COMTEX) -- The Russian Black Sea Fleet coastal service has categorically denied a version that a Ukrainian missile brought the Tu-154 Russian aircraft down when it diverted from its flight path on Thursday. The plane fell into the sea 180 kilometers of the southern town of Sochi. The Russian experts described such reports as technically inconsistent. Ukrainian air defense forces fired missiles at a maximum altitude of one kilometer during exercises in the Crimea on Thursday, while the plane crashed down from 11 kilometers.
Besides that, the missiles that were used during the exercise had no warheads. Therefore, an explosion could not have been recorded even if one of them had really hit the plane.
A Black Sea Fleet spokesman said that the fleet's ships and aviation have been placed on alert and are ready to head for the Tu-154 crash site.
By Lev Ryabchikov
I copied this FYI from the Capitolgrilling Message Board.