http://news.yahoo.com/ukraine-rebels...144258055.html
"The facts will inevitably come in, and if it is shown that Russian-supported rebels did this, the whole conversation about Ukraine will change," says Alexander Golts, a military expert with the online journal Yezhednevny Zhurnal. "In the eyes of the world there will be no difference between Russia and the rebels. Everyone knows who arms and supports these rebels, and that will be enough for most people to blame Russia."
Some argue that it's possible the horror of the airliner's downing in the heart of Europe could force all sides to step back from the escalating hostilities in eastern Ukraine and the increasingly vicious "information war" that has accompanied it.
"Much will depend on how Russia behaves now," says Alexei Makarkin, director of the independent Center of Political Technologies in Moscow. The key players in the Ukraine drama are poised at a crossroads, he says.
"A compromise aimed at avoiding any further escalation is possible. But the West will demand that Russia leave eastern Ukraine for good, and many in Russia will not accept that. So, it's also possible that we'll see a severe aggravation of our position, with tougher sanctions and US supplies of military aid to Ukraine," Mr. Makarkin adds.
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