Malaysia Plane Crash: Ukraine releases alleged 'intercepted messages' from those who shot it down
Ukrainian authorities
have released what they say are intercepted phone conversations between
pro-Russian separatists and what appear to be Russian military officers
saying that separatists shot down Malaysia Airlines flight MH17.
The Ukrainian Security Service put the Russian-language conversations on YouTube within hours of the crash.The veracity of the recordings cannot be confirmed,
First recording
[Male voice, identified as separatist leader Igor Bezler] The group of the Miner [an alias] has just shot down a plane, which came down just behind Yenakiyevo.[Col Geranin] Pilots. Where are the pilots?
[Bezler] Gone to search for and photograph the plane. It's smoking.
[Second male voice, identified as Russian military intelligence Colonel Vasily Geranin] How many minutes
ago?
[Bezler] About 30 minutes ago.
Second recording
[Male voice, captioned as "The Greek" ] Yes, Major.[Major] Well, the Chernukhino lads shot down the plane.
[Greek] Who shot it down?
[Major] From the Chernukhino roadblock. The Cossacks at Chernukhino.
[Greek] Yes, Major.
[Major] Well, the plane fell apart in the air, near the Pertropavlovskaya coal mine. The first casualty 200 [military jargon for dead body] has been found. A civilian.
[Greek] Well, what do you have there?
[Major] Basically it was 100% a civilian aircraft.
[Greek] Are many people there?
[Major] [Curses] The debris fell right into backyard.
[Greek] What kind of aircraft?
[Major] I have not figured this out yet because I haven't been close to the main body of the debris. I am only looking where the first bodies began to fall. There are the remnants of inner brackets, chairs and bodies there.
[Greek] I see. Any weaponry there?
[Major] Nothing at all. Civilian things, medical bits and bobs, towels, toilet paper.
[Greek] Any documents?
[Major] Yes. From an Indonesian student. From Thompson University [curses].
Third recording
[Male voice, identified as a fighter] Regarding the plane shot down in the area of Snezhnoye-Torez. It's a civilian one. Fell down near Grabovo. There are lots of corpses of women and children. The Cossacks are out there looking at all this.They say on TV it's a Ukrainian AN-26 transport plane, but they say it's got Malaysia Airlines written on the plane. What was it doing in Ukrainian territory?
[Male voice, identified as Cossack commander Nikolai Kozitsyn] That means they were carrying spies. They shouldn't be [curses] flying. There is a war going on.
