Deadliest Strike Yet: Ukraine Military Plane Shot Down

About 50 killed, as president promises 'adequate response'
By John Johnson,  Newser Staff
Posted Jun 14, 2014 7:48 AM CDT
Deadliest Strike Yet: Ukraine Military Plane Shot Down
Ukrainian troops stand atop of a vehicle as they leave the scene of fighting in Mariupol, eastern Ukraine, Friday.   (AP Photo/Evgeniy Maloletka)

Pro-Russian rebels have just notched the single deadliest attack since the unrest in Ukraine broke out, reports Reuters: They shot down a military transport plane as it was landing in Luhansk, killing all 49 Ukraine military personnel aboard. At the scene, soldiers found firing tubes from Russian-made anti-aircraft missiles, reports the New York Times. Moscow has denied supplying the militants, though the US yesterday accused Russia of sending three tanks and other weaponry across the border.

"This is a great loss not just for the families of the dead, but the whole country," said Ukraine President Petro Poroshenko in a statement picked up by the Wall Street Journal. "Ukraine is in sorrow, but we decisively continue to fight for peace. The terrorists will get an adequate response." (More Ukraine stories.)

Get the news faster.
Tap to install our app.
X
Install the Newser News app
in two easy steps:
1. Tap in your navigation bar.
2. Tap to Add to Home Screen.

X