All evidence so far points to the a purposeful shoot-down of M17 by the Ukie government forces. There is zero evidence that the Novorussians did it – absolutely zero, not even 1%.
The bigger question is whether or not the US was in on it. The Saker says there is no way that this could have gone down without the US knowing about it and approving of it, but I am not so sure. Is it possible the Ukies did this on their own.
I am not so certain that the US ordered this or knew it was going to happen. The US goal is to draw Ukraine into NATO and put missile bases on its soil to menace Russia. They do not want to get into a direct shooting match with Russia no matter how loudly the neocons squeal.
At the time the jet was downed, the Ukies were losing the war in the east. They are still not winning and the situation is stalemated. Their soldiers aren’t combat-effective, are demoralized and have terrible, unmaintained Soviet-era equipment. They are also conscripts fighting a volunteer army, and we should all know how that goes every time. The Ukies have been screaming for NATO intervention since this all began, getting louder about it the more their army broke down. They have been continuously ignored and rebuffed every time and told to win the war themselves.
By killing 300 innocents, many of them Westerners, they hoped to cause an outrage that would instantly see NATO soldiers inside Ukraine fighting the Russians, the exact scenario neither Russia nor NATO want. I’ve already read a few claims that elements in the Ukie regime were very upset that didn’t happen after the jet shoot-down.
