Ukraine can't believe it downed Russian passenger plane

Ukraine's Prosecutor General's Office deems it necessary to lift from the Black Sea bottom the wreckage of the Russian Tu-154 downed by a Ukrainian missile, Ukrainian Prosecutor General Svyatoslav Piskun said on Thursday in Odessa.

In his words, Ukraine "sent a letter to the Russian Prosecutor General's Office asking for help in the legal field." Piskun noted that to hold a technical expertise, additional materials are needed. According to the prosecutor, "there is certain damage to be examined", that's why the Ukrainian Prosecutor General's Office asks Russians to help lift the wreckage of the aircraft.

Meanwhile, a lot of experts have opined that an operation to lift the Tu-154 wreckage from a 2,000 m depth is impossible.

The plane was downed on October 4th, 2001 by a Ukrainian S-200 missile launched during anti-aircraft defense exercises in the Crimea. The catastrophe killed 78 people - 66 passengers, mostly Israelis, and 12 crew.