Ukrainian Air Force
Several aircraft from the Ukrainian Air Force were shot down in the months and days preceding the MH17 incident. On 14 June 2014, a Ukrainian Air Force Ilyushin Il-76 military transport was shot down on approach to Luhansk International Airport, with loss of nine crew members and forty troops. On 14 July 2014, a Ukrainian Air Force An-26 transport aircraft flying at was shot down. The militia reportedly claimed via social media that a Buk missile launcher, which they had previously seized and made operational, had been used to bring down the aircraft. American officials later said evidence suggested the aircraft had been shot down from Russian territory.