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BOEING 777 CRASH IN DONBASS

Malaysia Airlines to change routes to Europe to avoid eastern Ukraine

On Thursday, Lufthansa and Russia's Transaerosaid they were diverting flights from Ukrainian airspace following the Boeing crash in the Donetsk region

© EPA/FRED NEELEMAN

SINGAPORE, July 18. /ITAR-TASS/. Malaysia Airlines has announced it will change its routes to Europe to avoid flying over eastern Ukraine.

“With immediate effect, all European flights operated by Malaysia Airlines will be taking alternative routes avoiding the usual route,” the company said in a statement on Friday.

Following the crash of a Malaysian Airlines Boeing 777 in the very east of Ukraine on Thursday, Germany’s flag carrying airline Lufthansa has taken a decision to divert all of its flights from Ukrainian airspace.

At the same time, Russia’s number two airline, Transaero, said in an official statement its flights to third countries would be performed bypassing Ukrainian territory.

Malaysia Airline jet crash

Malaysia Airlines flight MH17 was en route from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur. It is not clear why it turned out in the airspace over Eastern Ukraine, which the Ukrainian aviation authorities closed for all commercial flights July 8.

The jet crashed near the town of Snezhnoye, just a few kilometers away from the Russian-Ukrainian border.

Ukrainian authorities and self-defense forces of the self-proclaimed Donetsk and Luhansk People’s Republics have issued reciprocal charges to each other and have denied any guilt on their part. Alexander Borodai, one of the leaders of the Donetsk republic said a commercial jet flying at 10,000 meters above the surface could only be brought down by a major antiaircraft missile system like Buk, which were unavailable to the volunteer units.

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Ukraine Aviation Boeing 777 crash in Ukraine

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