Time and again

What is it with Moscow governments and shooting down innocent civilian jetliners?  Okay, the US accidentally downed an Iranian jetliner in the Persian Gulf, but Russia has now two, if we don't count the downing of Gary Powers' U2 in 1960.  In 1983, Korean Air Lines Flight 007 was shot out of the sky by Soviet interceptor jets.  Now we have the destruction of a Malaysian Airlines aircraft (still with the trauma of the missing MH370 raw) over Russian-rebel controlled Ukraine.  Russia and the rebels have instantly blamed Kiev but the evidence counts against them.  The kind of a missile system that could send missiles to 34,000ft, a Buk, was present when separatists took over military bases in eastern Ukraine.  A Buk in rebel hands was seen moving around the region last week.  Further, the rebels were bragging about it on social media about downing the aircraft and Igor Strelkov, the military leader of the insurrection, made a comment on Twitter, later deleted, regarding it on the lines that aircraft above them would be destroyed.  In addition, the Ukrainian government has released radio intercepts (which we should treat with caution) about panicky Russian-speakers realising their mistake.  Maybe the gutless western European governments that temporised over applying further sanctions with rediscover their courage given that it's their own nationals who have died.
Moscow is also repeating what it did in the Korean War, sending military aircraft to attack its foes without officially saying they were doing so.  The Ukrainian government has said that a Russian jet fighter shot down one of Kiev's aircraft.  The Ukrainian executive is elected and recently in a free and fair ballot, the Russian executive was not elected freely and fairly, so I'm inclined to believe Kiev over Moscow.
The US has imposed further sanctions and on Russian sectors not just individuals and Vladimir Putin called up Barack Obama to complain, when during the call the Russian president was informed of the destruction of the Malaysian airliner.  Nice as it would be for Putin to come clean and say, "Actually Barack, you were entirely right to slap sanctions on us," it would never occur.  It's all about denial.  If they want to believe their own propaganda then there is no helping them and it's time to lock their energy sector out of trading in dollars, sterling and euros.  That might make the Kremlin re-evaluate their stance.