began building a case Friday that
would pin the blame for the downing of
the passenger jet over Ukraine on
separatist forces supported by Russia,
in a disaster that could dramatically
escalate the crisis in Ukraine. President
Barack Obama said one American was
among the nearly 300 killed and called
for an immediate cease-fire to allow for
an unfettered investigation.
Evidence indicates that Malaysia
Airlines Flight 17 was shot down by a
surface-to-air missile from an area
controlled by Russian-backed
separatists, Obama said at the White
House. He warned that the incident
showed the crisis in Ukraine won't be
localized or contained to the region.
"This should snap everybody's heads to
attention," Obama said.
He identified the U.S. citizen who was
killed as Quinn Lucas Schansman. No
other details were available on the
passenger.
While cautioning that the exact
circumstances of the crash were still
being determined, Obama pointed his
finger at Russia for providing support
to separatists that he suggested enabled
them to shoot down the plane. He said
such an attack wouldn't be possible
without sophisticated equipment and
training — "and that is coming from
Russia."
"Obviously, we're beginning to draw
some conclusions given the nature of
the shot that was fired," Obama said in
a stern address at the White House.
"There are only certain types of anti-
aircraft missiles that can reach up
30,000 feet and shoot down a passenger jet
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