U.S. President Barack Obama has partly blamed Russia for the tragedy that struck Malaysia Airlines Flight MH17 and all its 298 passengers and crew, scolding the Russian government for training and equipping separatist rebels who now appear responsible for shooting down the aircraft.

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Obama called the shooting down of the civilian passenger plane an "outrage of unspeakable proportions" and vowed the United States will work hard to hold accountable those responsible.

U.S. intelligence agencies earlier released data pointing to a surface-to-air missile as having been used to shoot down the aircraft as it approached the Russian border in eastern Ukraine Thursday afternoon.

Obama also called for an immediate cease-fire in fighting between Ukrainian government forces and pro-Russian separatists to give way to "credible international investigation" into what really happened.

The U.S. president squarely put part of the blame on Russia, saying the pro-Russian fighters could not have shot down Flight MH17 or even any Ukrainian military aircraft , if not for "sophisticated equipment and sophisticated training, and that is coming from Russia."

Earlier Friday, U.S. ambassador to the United Nations Samantha Power pointed at pro-Russian rebels, possibly aided by Russians, as responsible.

Power told an emergency meeting of the U.N. Security Council that the plane was "likely downed by a surface-to-air missile ... operated from a separatist-held location in eastern Ukraine."

Power also said Russia should take steps end the civil war in Ukraine saying, "Russia can end this war. Russia must end this war."

Ukrainian Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk meanwhile called on all governments to support an independent investigation, and to support the Ukrainian government in its quest to "bring to justice all these bastards who committed this international crime."

TagsBarack Obama, Malaysia Airlines, MH17