John McCain: 'There's going to be hell to pay' if rebels shot down Malaysian plane

Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) said Thursday that there would be "hell to pay" if pro-Russian separatists downed a Malaysian passenger jet as it flew over Ukraine.

"If it is the result of either separatist or Russian actions mistakenly believing that this was a Ukrainian war plane, I think there's going to be hell to pay," he said.

McCain cautioned that it was too early to speculate about what caused the plane to crash. Ukraine has accused rebel forces of downing the jet with a captured anti-air missile, though the rebels have flatly denied the allegation and suggested Ukrainian troops were responsible.

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