Two-thirds of Russians blame Ukraine's army for MH17 crash — poll

World August 01, 2014, 14:15

Sixteen percent of the respondents said western secret services were behind the Boeing's downing

MOSCOW, August 01. /ITAR-TASS/. Two-thirds of Russians (64%) believe that the Ukrainian army and security services are to blame for the crash of the Malaysian Boeing downed on July 17, a state-run pollster revealed on Friday.

Sixteen percent of the respondents said western secret services were behind the Boeing's downing, while just two percent pinned the blame on militia or Russia, the All-Russia Public Opinion Research Center (WCIOM) said.

Most respondents (61%) said the Malaysian plane was downed by a missile, while 14% cited terrorist attack as the cause of the tragedy. Other respondents said it could have been an accident (6%), a technical malfunction (3%) or pilot error (2%).

The MH17 crash, in which nearly 300 people were killed, will have no consequences for Russia, according to 38% of the respondents. Eight percent said Moscow's relations with the west would worsen and seven percent did not rule out that new sanctions would follow.

The poll, which was conducted on July 26-27 among 1,600 people in 42 Russian regions, had a margin of error that did not exceed 3.4%

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