Secretary of State John Kerry on Sunday said that evidence gathered on activity in Ukraine before, during and after the Malaysian plane was shot down over eastern Ukraine points to pro-Russian separatists.
“It obviously points very clear finger at the separatists,” Kerry said on CNN’s “State of the Union” about evidence collected thus far about the plane.
Kerry said that “we know for certain” that separatists were trained by Russians to use missiles, and that they had a system on Monday. And “within hours” of when the plane was shot down, a missile system passed through two towns near the crash site.
He stopped short of blaming Russia, however. When host Candy Crowley asked if Russia and Vladimir Putin were “culpable” in shooting down the plane, Kerry said that “people can make their own judgements about what they read here.”
He did say that this is a “wake up call” for Europe to join in U.S. sanctions against Russia.
Separatists have also been interfering with evidence, Kerry said. He told CNN they have removed parts of the plane and have been piling bodies in an unceremonious way.
