Local Professor Weighs In On Malaysia Airlines Crash In Ukraine
By Dan Wing
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- As the situation in the Ukraine continues to unfold, a Villanova Professor and expert on Russian Studies has weighed in on the Malaysian Airlines plane that was shot down on Thursday.
PHOTOS: Malaysia Airlines Plane Crashes In Ukraine
Dr. Mark Schrad says the region where the plane went down largely identifies with Russian culture, but after the sanctions levied after Crimea became a part of Russia, the country left the separatists in Eastern Ukraine out to dry -- and Schrad says they really have no end-game.
"That's been the big question, what do they do now, and it's really been unclear for a while," Dr. Schrad said.
Dr. Schrad says that while the Malaysian Airlines jet was probably mistaken for a Ukrainian military plane, the bigger questions is whether or not Russia supplied the weapons that brought the plane down.
WATCH: Local Aviation Expert Weighs In On Plane Crash In Ukraine
"And maybe orders by Russian generals, there's going to be a big, tremendous backlash. And it's also going to allow sort of greater political cover for more intervention," Dr. Schrad said.
Dr. Schrad says that intervention could come from multiple sources. He adds that while things had seemed to be simmering down in the Ukraine following the Ukrainian elections, the violence in Eastern Ukraine has been on the rise in the past few weeks.
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