Poll: 88% of Russians think Russian-speakers face danger in Ukraine. http://t.co/WuDVYc81x3
— Glenn Kates (@gkates) July 23, 2014
Mark MacKinnon from "The Globe and Mail" has been looking at the awkward situation Russian President Vladimir Putin finds himself in following the downing of MH17:
Mr. Putin is in a trap of his own making following the downing of Malaysia Airlines Flight 17. He’s unable – even if he were willing – to meet the West’s demands, in large part due to the anti-Western opinion in Russia he and his Kremlin have moulded over 15 years in power.
Having cast the West as Russia’s enemy for so long, and having personally vowed to protect ethnic Russians everywhere, analysts say Mr. Putin would be fiercely criticized at home if he pulled an about-face and abandoned the separatists of the Donetsk People’s Republic under pressure from Washington and London.
Much of the world sees the pro-Russian rebels as the villains of the MH17 saga. But they have been portrayed as heroes – standing up for their right to speak Russian and choose their own course – on Kremlin-run television for the past five months, making it almost impossible for Mr. Putin to desert them now.
“People are still supportive of the government, and they buy into this picture created by Russian TV of a fascist government in Kiev trying to destroy the population of the southeast [of Ukraine], of Novorossiya,” said Sergey Utkin, head of strategic assessment at the Moscow-based Russian Academy of Sciences. "It’s a myth that’s dear to Russian conservatives," he added, "and we have quite a lot of Russian conservatives these days – call them revanchists if you like."
Read the entire article here
Hundreds of people waiting alongside the road for the bodies to leave @eindhoven airport. #MH17 @itvnews pic.twitter.com/63BNuV5zxj
— Daniel Demoustier (@dandemoustier) July 23, 2014
Ukrainian military jets shot down today were fired upon from the RUSSIAN side of the border, Ukrainian official says now at briefing
— Kirit Radia (@KiritRadia) July 23, 2014
More: Ukraine says shots that brought down military planes today were from a “very powerful anti-aircraft system” the rebels don’t possess
— Kirit Radia (@KiritRadia) July 23, 2014
Ukrainian military jets shot down today were fired upon from the RUSSIAN side of the border, Ukrainian official says now at briefing
— Kirit Radia (@KiritRadia) July 23, 2014
Here's the latest daily situational map for eastern Ukraine from the National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine:
Вот снимки #российского центра подготовки для сепаратистов вблизи границы с #Украиной. #MH17 pic.twitter.com/VAdx9jg4zV
— Geoffrey Pyatt (@GeoffPyatt) July 23, 2014
Two planes carrying the first of the #MH17 victims' bodies have arrived in the Netherlands
— Sky News Newsdesk (@SkyNewsBreak) July 23, 2014
#URGENT 1/2 to all colleagues in area of 2day's shot down Ukr planes: road between
— Fergal Keane (@fergalkeane47) July 23, 2014
#URGENT 2/2 Petrovskye and Saur-Mohyla not passable.
— Fergal Keane (@fergalkeane47) July 23, 2014
Here are some more details from RFE/RL's news desk on the downing of two Ukrainian military jets today:
Ukraine's military says Russian-backed rebels have shot down two Ukrainian military jets in the east of the country.
Military spokesman Oleksiy Dmytrashkivsky said the fate of the pilots is unknown.
The Sukhoi jets were reportedly brought down near the town of Snizhne today.
The separatists had claimed earlier that they shot down one Su-25 jet near Snizhne.
They said a search was under way for the pilot who ejected. They said a second Su-25 was hit and damaged but flew away.
The shooting down of the fighter jets comes after the downing of a Malaysian passenger plane in eastern Ukraine on July 17.
U.S. intelligence officials say Russian-backed separatists shot down the Malaysian plane "by mistake," killing 298 people.
(Reuters, AFP, UNIAN)