Russian and Ukrainian Officials: Missile Downed Plane

M O S C O W, Russia, Oct. 12 -- Russian and Ukrainian officials today said the Oct. 4 downing of a Russian commercial plane over the Black Sea, which killed 78 people, was caused by a missile.

Vladimir Rushailo, secretary of the Russian Security Council and chairman of the special government commission investigating the incident today said the accident was "the result of a strike by the warhead of an anti-aircraft missile."

The official announcement, which was made in the Russian town of Sochi today, followed widespread reports that a Ukrainian missile mistakenly fired at the Tu-154 airliner, causing it to plunge in the Black Sea near Sochi.

All 78 people on board, including the crew and the passengers, most of whom were Russian immigrants to Israel, were killed in the accident.

Hours after the crash, U.S. officials told ABCNEWS that Siberian Airlines Flight SB 1812 may have been accidentally shot down by a Ukrainian anti-aircraft missile fired during a military exercise.

But Russian and Ukrainian officials had dismissed the reports, saying it was too early to reach a conclusion.

Pressure on Ukraine

Today's official announcement came after increasing pressure on Ukrainian officials to take responsibility for the crash.

Speaking to reporters in the capital of Kiev today, YevhenMarchuk, the head of the Ukrainian Security Council said, "The reason for the crash could be an unintentional hit by anS-200 missile during the Ukrainian air defense exercises."

The admission came a week after Ukrainian President LeonidKuchma ordered the creation of a Ukrainian interagencycommission to look into the causes of the tragedy with their Russian counterparts.

Ukrainian Defense Minister Oleksandr Kuzmuk had earlier submitted his resignation after the tragedy occurred, but Kuchma rejected the resignation.

‘A Big White Spot on the Sea’

The Russian Tupolev 154 airliner left Tel Aviv's Ben Gurion International Airport on Oct. 4 en route to the Siberian city of Novosibirsk and was about two hours into its journey when air traffic controllers in Rostov-on-Don, a city in southern Russia, noticed that it had disappeared off their radar screens.