The pentagon seems to be making its own counter-argument. It strains credulity that the Russian separatists launched the missile. Period. They would have had to first get their hands on a state-of-the-art SAM battery. Did they steal one from Kiev? Not likely. Did the Russians give them one with it going unnoticed and unreported by anyone? Again, not likely.

Then, the insurgents would have had to get their hands on a highly trained crew to operate the SAM battery. This isn’t like a rifle that one picks up, chambers a round, points and fires. It’s chock full of computers and radars with target acquisition procedures and fire control procedures, etc., that are learned through very specific training. If the insurgents stole a SAM battery they would have had to steal a crew to go along with it. Seems unlikely. Or the Russians would have had to give the insurgents an operations crew. Again, unlikely. The Russians would have nothing to gain and much to lose. Seems to me Putin is playing his hand much smarter than that.