Russia Caught Faking Satellite ‘Evidence’ That Ukrainian Jet Shot Down Malaysia Airlines Flight MH17

Russia released evidence the week claiming to show that a Ukrainian fighter jet shot down Malaysia Airlines Flight MH17, but within hours of the photograph’s release, it had been debunked as a crude fake.

The picture was released on Russia’s state-controlled Channel One TV broadcast, showing what appeared to be a fighter jet trailing MH17 in the skies above Ukraine. The pro-Moscow media claimed the picture came from George Bilt, reportedly a Massachusetts Institute of Technology graduate. Bilt then reportedly sent it to Ivan Andriyevsky, first vice-president of the Russian Union of Engineers.

“We can assume that the photograph was taken by an American or British satellite,” Andriyevskiy told Channel One, “we have studied the photograph in detail and found nothing suggesting that it is fake.”

But sharp-eyed internet users soon shot holes in the story and exposed the picture as a fraud. Many pointed out that the Malaysia Airlines logo was in the wrong place on the airplane. Another blogger found that the plane appears to be the same picture that shows up if when you Google”Boeing view from above” in Russian.

Others note that the fighter jet is different than the SU-25 that Russia had claimed shot down Malaysia Airlines Flight MH17.

Some believe the faked photos could be an attempt to take some attention off Russia for its invasion of Ukraine and reported involvement in the downing of MH17. Witnesses claimed to have seen Russian troops in the area near where the plane was shot down.

Russian President Vladimir Putin just arrived in Australia for a meeting of the Group of 20, where he has already come under pressure for his country’s invasion of Ukraine. Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper reportedly confronted Putin, telling him to “get out of Ukraine.”

Despite the attempt on the part of Russia to blame Ukrainian forces, the downing of Malaysia Airlines Flight MH17 remains officially unsolved.