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[Second Issue of the Day]
#12
Ukraine minister admits forces downed Russian jet
KIEV, Oct 13 (Reuters) - Ukraine's Defence Minister Olexander Kuzmuk admitted on Saturday that Ukrainian forces were responsible for last week's Russian aircraft disaster and apologised to victims and their relatives.
"We know we are involved in the accident," Kuzmuk said, bursting unexpectedly into a news conference given by his subordinates. "I offer my deep apologies to the relatives and friends of those who died in this accident."
All 78 crew and passengers, mostly Russian-born Israelis, died after the Tu-154 exploded at high altitude and crashed into the Black Sea on October 4.
Ukraine, whose military had at first denied responsibility, said on Friday a missile from live rocket-firing exercises on the Crimean peninsula could have caused the disaster.
But neither Kuzmuk nor other high-level military officials could explain how one of their missiles had come to miss the drone it was targeted on and instead zero in on the Russian plane. They said further investigation was needed.
On Thursday, officials revealed Kuzmuk had offered to resign after reports implicating Ukraine appeared. President Leonid Kuchma refused his offer, saying he wanted to wait for an official report by Russian, Ukrainian and Israel experts in Sochi, Russia, on the cause of the crash.
Volodymyr Tkachyov, commander of the Ukrainian anti-aircraft forces, told the news conference on Saturday that a technical glitch appeared to be a possible reason.
"I am deeply sorry that I could not have prevented this misfortune," Tkachyov said. Like Kuzmuk, Tkachyov offered to resign immediately after the crash.
DIPLOMATIC FALLOUT
Kuchma, himself a former missile factory boss, sought to play down the disaster this week, saying "bigger mistakes have been made." He drew bitter condemnation from Israel.
Kuzmuk conceded that it would take a long time for Ukraine's military forces to regain trust after the disaster and he apologised to Ukrainians for damaging the country's reputation.
This is the second time in 18 months that Ukraine's armed forces have lost control of a live missile.
Last year, four people were killed in the town of Brovary when a rocket ploughed into their apartment block. The defence ministry denied responsibility for several days until rescue workers found missile parts in the rubble.
Vladimir Rushailo, head of Russia's Security Council, was quoted by the Interfax news agency on Saturday as saying the S200 missile exploded some 15 metres above the plane.
He said the pilot and navigator of the Russian aircraft, bound for Novosibirsk in Siberia from Israel, died immediately after the mid-air explosion.
A Russian newspaper reported on Thursday the pilot of the doomed jet had known his plane had been hit and medical evidence showed many passengers had been alive as the plane went into a death plunge.
Only 15 bodies have been found during an air and sea search operation hampered by bad weather. The black box flight recorders remain on the seabed more than 1,000 metres (3,300 feet) down.
Ukraine has been under considerable pressure from its former masters in Moscow to explain itself. President Vladimir Putin was reported to have been unhappy with the information Ukraine gave.
But Moscow has stopped short of turning the disaster into an open diplomatic row.
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