The BUK stops with Putin

It is puzzling that the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) would direct civilian aircraft to stay clear of Crimea (which is no longer experiencing armed conflict since it joined Russia in April) but allow them to fly over the Donetsk region of eastern Ukraine, albeit above 31,000 feet.

ICAO, you are severely lagging. It’s time to shake up your management and sack some of your well paid advisors.

The bunch of ragtag bandits calling themselves separatists may be better supplied in Vodka than simple field equipment for their secession war with Ukraine, but their Russian advisors and sponsors ought to have known that when you allow monkeys to play with bombs, there may be no zoo left to take Little Petr to.

So when the Donetski rebels claim to have mistaken a Boeing 777 for a Ukrainian military craft, I have to say “BUK you.” Where were your field binoculars, Comrades? Didn’t you think to ask your Ruskie handlers for a pair?

How high is 33,000 feet? We are told this is the altitude MH17 was flying when it was downed by a BUK (pronounced “boog”).

I did a simple test with my own Japanese made bird-watchers in the clear skies of north Kuala Lumpur this morning. As luck would have it, I could clearly see the craters of the Ramadan moon. And there was a commercial jet flying high enough to spew a white exhaust trail, heading south-westerly for Sepang. Couldn’t be certain of the airline as I caught the tail-end view, but I saw a broad green band around the white fuselage of the twin jet.

In case anyone was wondering what kind of large planes the Ukrainians use, a quick wiki check confirmed that Ilyushin-76 is a four-jet Beluga whale lookalike, and the Antonov-70 and Antonov-26 are not even jets, but four- and two-turbo-propeller craft respectively. They are as different as apples are to oranges when compared to the sleek twin-jet 777.

Comrade Vladimir, flowers outside the Malaysian embassies aren’t going to cut it. The buck, or should I say BUK, stops with you.

Stop your lies. The secessionists are not trying to join the United Nations; they are trying to join Russia and everyone sees clearly who is really fomenting the unrest in Donetsk with cash and military support.