Being on. Lets reset at the top of the hour now. Im anderson cooper. Thank you for joining us. Were following two major breaking stories that the hour. The downing of Malaysian Airlines flight 17 that killed 298 people in ukraine. And im wolf blitzer reporting from jerusalem. The other major story, the breaking story we were following, the crisis in gaza, where israel launched a major ground offensive and it continues. A lot to get you up to date on in this hour. President obama today laying out the priorities and the aftermath of the Airline Crash in the ukraine. The priorities, learning the truth first, he say then acting. There has to be a credible International Investigation into what happened. The u. N. Security council has endorsed this investigation and we will hold all its members, including russia, to their word. In order to facilitate that investigation. Russia, prorussian separatists
and ukraine must adhere to an immediate ceasefire. Evidence must not be tampered with. Investigators need access to the crash site. And the solemn task of returning those lost on board the plane to their loved ones needs to go forward immediately. Heres what we know. When Malaysian Airlines flight 17 went down yesterday, most of the people on board, 189, were from the netherlands. President obama today identified by Name One American who was also killed. The airline announcing today that they will make an initial cash payment of 5,000 to the family of each passenger. It sounds like very little amount of money. Meant to cover travel expenses, immediate expenses, to the crash side. An audio recording ukrainian Officials Say they intercepted. And one of the voice on the tape describing debris falling from the sky and saying, quote, hes 100 sure the plane is aCivilian Aircraft. The question of course, did anyone know it was a Civilian Aircraft before they shot it down. Whichever side of the youd cra Ukraine Conflict is found spons ashlgs these deaths were not involved in that conflict. An asian airliner filled with people from All Over The World. And everyone agrees there will be some sort of backlash, certainly some impact. Jim sciutto is our chief National Security. The question now is where will that backlash come, who will feel it, what form will it take. Most likely russia. The president clearly treading very carefully here in his comments about the white house. Saying we have to be certain first of exactly what happened. So theyre taking their time. But, more and more, the evidence coming from the u. S. Side and the ukrainian side points to some russian involvement. The president said so in so many words. He said that this, in his words, is not an accident. A plane cannot be shot down without sophisticated equipment. And he says that sophisticated
equipment, including antiaircraft missiles, are coming from russia. Were just learning now that the Working Theory of u. S. Intelligence now is that this Missile System, which both u. S. And ukrainian officials believe was responsible for taking down this passenger yet, this buk system weve talked a lot about, anderson, that it was supplied to the rebels by russia. That would be a shocking revelation if confirmed. Because it means russia would not just be indirectly responsible for this, but directly responsible. And that means greater consequences. The trouble is, how severe are those consequences. Just a day before this crash, president jim, i just got to interrupt you. Theres a pentagon briefing. Well go to that live. And that support has included arms, material and training. As we investigate who did this and why, this terrible tragedy underscores the need for russia
to take immediate and concrete steps to deitescalate the crisi in ukraine. And i have one update on cape bray. The crew aboard cape bray continue their work to neutralize materials from the stockpile. As of this morning, the crew has neutralized just over 15 of the df, which is a sarin precursor. This amount has been verified by the International Organization for the prohibition of chemical weapons. Hes no longer talking about the aircraft itself. Actually, lets listen as he is taking questions. Lets just see yeah, lets listen in. Of russian heavy weapons across the border into ukraine and the president spoke about training, all of that. Can you go through this and tell us the latest u. S. Assessment, u. S. Military assessment, of
what the russians have been doing in transferring heavy weapons, surface to air missiles, artillery, other heavy weapons across the border, to separatists on the ukraine side and the training and assistance that you believe russian elements, the Russian Military, is giving to these separatists. No hint that Russian Support for the separatists have ceased. In fact, we continue to believe that russia continues to provide them with heavy weapon, military equipment, financing as well. They continue to allow these russian fighters to enter the ukraine freely. There have been, as you know, weve acknowledged that some tanks, armored personnel vehicles, have made their way across the border. It is a it has been a steady Concerted Campaign by russias military to continue to support and resource, advise, these separatists. Have you seen there is some video out there, i dont
know that youve seen the particular video, have you seen evidence that an sa11 or buk Missile System would cross the border at some point from russia into ukraine, and what can you tell us about that system and the sophistication and training that would be needed by russian separatists to actually be able to operate it effectively . I dont have specific information about a buk system making that transit. Were not ruling anything in or out at this point. It is it is a sophisticated that said, it is a sophisticated system. The missile itself, the saa 11, which is the one we believe was used to down flight 17, is a sophisticated piece of technology. And it it strained credulity to think it could be used by separatists without at least some measure of Russian Supportand technical assistance. They didnt just do it on their own . It strain e eed crew duality think it could be used without assistance. You have evidence of that . We want investigators to do their work. I dont have an indication now that a system was brought over and we dont exactly know who is responsible for firing that missile or with or with what assistance. What im saying is that system is fairly sophisticated. So what is the level of their training and assistance . Does it include Russian Forces going across the border into ukraine to work as advisers or trainers side by side with the separatists . Theres been russian theres been incursions across the border by russian aircraft so, i mean, i think we have we dont have any reason to
suspect that they havent provided some measure of support on the other side of that border. I mean, these Paramilitary Forces that we dont talk about as much anymore certainly didnt act or behave or like some ragtag militia. So nobodys suggesting that Russian Military advice and assistance hasnt somehow crossed that border. Its just unclear exactly how much and when and who. Again, thats what the investigators are going to look at. We got to let them do it. Are we to believe it was just a coincidence that the president announced sanctions directly on the maker of this buks system just the day before . I wont get into the Thought Process behind the president s specific decisions. Clearly, these are another round of targeted sanctions. Designed to change the calculation and president s putins behavior and decision making. What youre seep m to think what youre suggesting [ inaudible ] i have no information thats the case. Second question, whats the Working Theory about the intent . Was this an intended Military Target gone awry . Or was this simply an act of terrorism perhaps . We dont know. Again, thats what weve got to let investigators figure out. We dont know what the motive was here. What is your theory . What is your Working Theory . I dont think we have a Working Theory at this point. This just happened yesterday. Theres teams of investigators now trying to get to the site and pore through this. We just have to let them do their job. Admiral, people in this department have said before that there were about 10,000 to 12,000 regular Russian Troops inside the russian side of the
border, which is a buildup from a couple of weeks ago. Is that still your estimate . Have those forces changed since this attack yesterday . Can you tell us about, you know, as much as you can what theyre doing or what their posture is in terms of a Potential Incursion . Yes, thats a great question. I dont know of any major change to that presence. Its roughly, still, about 10,000 to 12,000. And It Fleck Wait fluctuates ae bit from week to week. The point is, it has been, over time, a steady increase of these combined arms tactical battalions across the border on the russian side but to the southeast of ukraine. And they are close to the border. In many cases, closer than those forces who were more aligned along the east. If you remember, we had Tens Of Thousands that were along the eastern border with ukraine, but not as close as these units
appear to be. All theyre doing is further escalating tension. Its difficult to know what their intent is. Thats a question you should ask the Russian Military defense. Theyre there. Theyre going by size week by week. They do nothing more than escalate tension. Is that process separate from these regular i havent seen any indication theyre actively involved in the provision of support to the separatists. I Havent Seencontinuing to mas along that side of the border. Justin. Two questions. Do that massing of forces, does that include air, defense, Artillery Systems like the sa 11 that was used in malaysian have you seen Air Defense Equipment on the russian side of the border in that buildup . I dont have an inventory of what theyve got with them, justin. We assess these are combined arms units. In other words, its not just
infantry troops, but they have artillery capability, theyve got armor capability. Theyre combined arms. And theyre very ready. This is a very capable force. Though smaller in number than what was aligned along the border before. I dont have a complete inventory of what theyve got. An estimate of about 12,000 Russian Troops on the border in the russian side. Obviously, the u. S. Has been tracking the work of Russian Special operations forces, russian advisers, russian intelligence services, in ukraine. Is there an estimate of the size of that advisory presence inside the Eastern Ukraine by Russian Forces . Is it a handful . Is it 1,000 guys . I dont have the number for you on that. Thats less important than the fact that they continue to do it. And we continue to see this
support and resourcing and advice given to these separatist groups. We have every indication that support is russian, coming from the russians. In ukraine we believe there are there is Russian Support for the separatists inside ukraine, yes. Admiral, when the general was here a couple weeks ago, he said specifically that the ukrainian separatists were receiving training on russian territory on using what he called vehicle born antiaircraft systems. How much training, can you elaborate, has that intensified in recent weeks, and was he referring to an as11type system . I dont know what assessment he was referring to but we agree some separatists have received training in these vehicle born systems. Theres no question about that. I dont have i mean, i dont have an estimate of how many and whos doing it. That would have to raise particular alarms, wouldnt it . Its one thing, small arms. But vehicle born antiaircraft systems, thats pretty serious. It is pretty serious. Weve been taking it serious. Weve been monitoring the situation there as closely as we can. And weve been nobody in the pentagon has been shy about talking about the continued threat posed by these separatist elements in ukraine or by those combined arms forces continuing to amass along the border. Phil. Has the pentagon or u. S. Government increased its surveillance of the area along the border in the wake of this Disast Disaster . I would just say that were monitoring events as closely as we can. And i really dont have any more to add than that. You dont want to say whether its increased or not . Were monitoring events as closely as we can. Ill go back to the generals
comments. Were there any warnings given to the commercial Airline Companies or any civilian airline authorities about the existence or this level of training for those taking place there was a notice to airmen put out. I think you know that. That warns Civilian Aircraft to fly, to take care over the skies of ukraine and to fly at higher altitudes. Not an expert on that entire process but there was an International Notice to civilian air carriers about that. Was that prompted by what the general said, the training of vehicle born youd have to talk to the faa and other agencies that handle that. I dont know what prompted it. I think it was obviously if youre going to issue a warning like that, its based on concerns that you have about surface to air Missile Activity and capabilities. Yeah. You said that you dont know what the intent was of whoever
fired the missile. Were there any indications there were other airlines, perhaps Ukrainian Military planes, in the sky at that time . Also, is there any concern the president keeps saying put be wants to stop this, he can. Are there any concerns perhaps this is a situation that is poised to spiral out control and perhaps russian doesnt have the control of the separatists and, if so, how are you preparing . On your first question, i dont know. This is ukrainian airspace. I remembfer to them to speak ab that. We wouldnt have that here. On your second question, i think the president s been very clear about what the responsibilities and obligation of President Putin and moscow are right now. Which is to deits calculate the tension. Respect the territorial integrity of ukraine. And cease support for the separatist activities. Which i said at the outset, in
some cases, is intensifying. Even after yesterdays incidents . I dont know of any big delta between their support from yesterday to today. We havent seen any sign that its not that its stopping. Yes. Admiral, there had been previous to yesterdays tragedy, there had been two or three, at least, ukrainian transport planes shot down. Does your intelligence and your knowledge indicate the system that shot down the plane yesterday was a more powerful, more sophisticated system requiring more training, or was it similar to the system that was used to shoot down the ukrainian transport planes . Its again, were investigating this right now. Its unclear exactly what brought down the other aircraft youre talking about. I mean, we know they were shot down, but those those incidents are still being looked
into. I dont have any great visibility on what brought them down. But id like to just kind of bring you back to the larger point here. That these aircraft are being shot down. And while its unclear exactly whos pulling the trigger here, its pretty clear its doing nothing to Deitescalate The Tension Inside Ukraine and to bring to this crisis a peaceful resolution. Now innocent people simply flying from one city to another have been killed. And brought into this. So lets not lose sight of The Big Picture here. It matters a lot less, you know, exactly what system it was and a lot more that it happened and it needs to stop. Just a quick follow, do you believe whoever shot this plane down could have mistaken for a Ukrainian Military transport . Eim not going to get into te motivations, the intent, the
reasoning that went into this. Thats for the investigators to figure out. We simply dont have that level of detail at this point. Maam. Normally Friend Or Foe measures on systems like this . If it was an accident, would that reveal a dangerous lack of training on the part of whoever was using it . I dont know yet. Im not an expert on that system. I wouldnt begin to get up here and try to dissect it for you. Investigators are going to pile through this. Exactly who are these investigators . It will be its an International Investigation. Does it include dod, does it include cia theres no plans right now for a dod representative on this. I wont speak for other agencies. I believe there will be some other entities from the federal government, individuals going over there to participate in it. I dont have the makeup of the team. It will be an International Investigation. Do you anticipate i have no expectation right
now there will be a dod rep on this team. The preside