MOSCOW, July 18, /ITAR-TASS/. Two Ukrainian fighters were following the passenger Boeing-777 of Malaysian Airlines several minutes before the crash, Russia’s television Channel One said on Friday, citing a tweet made a Spanish air traffic controller of Kiev’s airport Borispol.

According to the Spanish air traffic controller, two Ukrainian fighters had been seen near the Malaysian jet three minutes before it disappeared from radars.

This information is confirmed by eyewitnesses in the Donetsk region who saw Ukrainian warplanes near the passenger jet. They say they heard sounds of powerful blasts and saw a Ukraine warplane shortly before the crash.

A Boeing-777 of the Malaysian Airlines that was en route from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur, disappeared from the radars and crashed on Thursday evening near the settlement of Grabovo in Ukraine’s Donetsk region. All those who were onboard the plane - 280 passengers and 15 crew members - died. According to preliminary data, passengers included citizens of the Netherlands, the United States, Great Britain, France, and Malaysia. According to Russian Emergencies Minister Vladimir Puchkov, there were no Russians among the passengers.