Poll: A surprising number of Russians think Ukraine shot down Malaysia Airlines Flight 17

(Image credit: Rob Stothard/Getty Images)

last updated 8 January 2015

Independent Russian polling agency Levada released a poll on Wednesday that found that a surprising number of Russians believe Ukraine is responsible for the downing of Malaysia Airlines Flight 17.

Forty-six percent of those polled reported that they believed a "Ukrainian army anti-aircraft missile" shot down the plane, while 36 percent said a Ukrainian military plane was responsible. Only 3 percent expressed belief that pro-Russian separatists were to blame. (As The Washington Post notes, multiple answers were allowed, and these percentages may have overlapping respondents.)

Meanwhile, U.S. and European officials have alleged that Flight 17 was shot down by pro-Russian separatists. The Post cuts right to the point: "Almost no one in Russia is buying the story that the rest of the world accepts." One possible explanation? State-owned Russian media pushing its preferred storyline.