Malaysian passenger plane crashes in Ukraine near Russian border

A Malaysia Airlines passenger flight has crashed with 295 people on board, according to a Russian news agency. 

According to the reports, a Boeing 777 was flying from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur and was shot down in the Donetsk region. the plane lost contact at about 4:20 p.m. Ukraine time and that the airplane was brought down by a "ground-to-air missile. 

The crash comes just months after Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 disappeared in March. 

Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko said the jet may have been shot down. 

"We do not exclude that the plane was shot down and confirm that the Ukraine Armed Forces did not fire at any targets in the sky," Mr Poroshenko said in a statement posted on the president's website. 

Separatist leader Aleksander Borodai blamed the crash on the Ukrainian government's forces. "Apparently, it's a passenger airliner indeed, truly shot down by the Ukrainian Air Force," Mr Borodai stated.