Girkin Posts Claim of 'AN-26' Shootdown, Then Deletes It

Within hours of the crash, Igor Girkin (Strelkov), the self-styled DNR 'Defense Minister', posts on VKontakte (VK): 'In the vicinity of Torez, we just downed a plane, an AN-26. It is lying somewhere in the Progress Mine. We have issued warnings not to fly in our airspace.' When it becomes clear the aircraft was a civilian Boeing 777, the post is deleted. The post is preserved by internet archives and becomes key evidence.