WASHINGTON, July 21 (UPI) -- Rep. Peter King, R-N.Y., and Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., said Sunday that Russian President Vladimir Putin needs to take responsibility for the downing of Malaysia Airlines Flight 17.
"I think Secretary Kerry laid out the case against Russia -- there can be no reasonable doubt now that Russia was involved, Putin was involved," said King on Face the Nation. "By supplying this type of weaponry to a group of thugs like Ukrainian separatists, you have to bear responsibility for what happens after that. And this really is a game changer."
Feinstein echoed the Republican's sentiments on CNN's State of the Union, saying that even if the downing was a mistake, Putin needs to bear responsibility.
"This has become a huge human drama, and I think the nexus between Russia and the separatists has been established very clearly, so the issue is where is Putin?" said the Senate Intelligence Committee chairwoman. "I would say, 'Putin, you have to man up. You should talk to the world. You should say, if this is a mistake, which I hope it was, say it.' Even if it was a mistake, it was a horrendous mistake to make."
Putin has faced severe international backlash over the incident. He said Monday that Ukraine is at fault and accused other nations of using the tragedy to achieve their own political goals.
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