Malaysia Airlines Plane Disappears Over Ukraine [MOVED]

**safeorigin** · August 5th, 2014 10:29 PM

So, the Ukrainians are using ballistic missiles(OTR-21 Tochka/SS-21 “Scarab”) against the rebels...

Despite previous sanctions, the flow of weapons continues and on Tuesday the fighting appeared to have entered a dangerous new phase. There were reports that Ukraine's government in the past 48 hours used short-range ballistic missiles against the rebels, three U.S. officials told CNN.

The weapons have a range of about 50 miles (80 kilometers) and pack up to 1,000-pound (454-kilogram) warheads. If the reports are accurate, they are the most deadly missiles used in the conflict to date.

The U.S. officials did not specify where the missiles hit or what damage they caused.

One U.S. official said there has been no reaction from Russia so far.

Another of the U.S. officials said using the missiles is "an escalation, but Ukraine has a right to defend itself."

Ukrainian Foreign Minister Pavlo Klimkin acknowledged that his country's military has short-range missiles, but denied that the military fired any.

In a joint news conference with Klimkin, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry praised Ukrainian officials for proposing a peace plan that includes "serious and substantive dialogue with the Russian-backed separatists."

U.S., EU hit Russia with more sanctions over Ukraine - CNN.com