Fighter pilot blamed by Russia for downing Malaysian Airlines plane found dead
A Ukrainian fighter pilot blamed by the Kremlin in the downing of Malaysian Airlines Flight MH17 has committed suicide, according to reports.
Capt. Vladyslav Voloshyn, 29, who had claimed to be the victim of a smear campaign by Moscow, shot himself in his Mykolaiv home near the Black Sea, the BBC reported, citing local media.
Dutch authorities concluded that a Buk missile that had been moved from Russia into eastern Ukraine had destroyed the Boeing 777 jet, killing 298 people on July 17, 2014.
The findings contradicted Moscow’s claims that the plane — en route from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur — was brought down by the Ukrainian military.
Voloshyn, the recipient of a medal for bravery, had flown 33 combat missions in a Su-25 ground attack jet against Russian-backed separatists in eastern Ukraine, according to the BBC.
He had been in charge of the Mykolaiv airport after resigning from the air force. The city near Odessa is called Nikolayev by Russian speakers.
Mykolaiv police posted a statement on Facebook in which they described Voloshyn’s death as a “suicide” — but it is being probed under the “premeditated murder” section of Ukraine’s penal code.
A military service pistol was found at the scene of his death.
Russian rebels targeted several Ukrainian jets after launching their insurgency in April 2014, while many international airlines continued flying over the conflict zone.
The Malaysian plane’s high-altitude flight was thought to be safe despite warnings about the rebels’ missile capability.
Russian officials also alleged that a Ukrainian military Buk missile downed the airliner, but independent rejected their claims, saying the evidence pointed to a Buk fired by pro-Russian rebels or a Russian military unit.
Ukrainian media quoted Voloshyn’s relatives as saying said he had been feeling depressed before he shot himself Sunday with his wife nearby.
Yuriy Butusov, a Ukrainian journalist who knew Voloshyn well, praised the pilot on Facebook as an exemplary airman who had fought bravely against the Russian-backed rebels.
Butusov expressed astonishment over Voloshyn’s death.
“Dear Vlad, how can this be?! Why?!” he wrote. “He didn’t let himself break down, he wasn’t depressed at all — he always acted as an exemplary officer.”