Report: Pro-Russian Rebels Celebrated Shooting Down Malaysian Aircraft

On Thursday’s “Sean Hannity Show,” Fox News Channel Correspondent Leland Vittert reported that pro-Russia rebels in Ukraine celebrated shooting down what they thought was a Ukrainian military aircraft shortly after a Boeing 777 operated by Malaysia Airlines lost radio contact. 

He reported that a rebel leader said, “We just shot down another plane” after the Malaysia Airlines flight lost radio contact, and the rebels “didn’t know it was a commercial airliner at the time.” The posts have since been deleted, according to Vittert, and CBS News reported that rebel leaders have denied any involvement in the plane’s demise.  

Vittert did not say whether the rebels were telling the truth when they claimed to shoot the plane down, but “what is clear is that these guys were touting the fact that they shot down a number of plane, as they have a number of times over the past couple of months.”  

Follow Ian Hanchett on Twitter @IanHanchett