Pro-Russian militant admits to shooting down MH17

In an interview with Corriere della Sera, the militant source claimed they had made a mistake in shooting down the commercial airliner, thinking it was a Ukrainian military aircraft.

The 31-year-old militant claimed that his unit was told to be ready to face the Ukrainian military forces, before the plane lands.

"On Thursday, our commander ordered us to pile into a lorry with our weapons and bullets, around 10 minutes after that, there was a loud explosion in the air.

"We just shot down the Kiev Fascist plane, they told us... they also warned us to be careful as there might be some survivors," the militant told the Italian newspaper at Torez railway station where the bodies of MH17 victims were before they were transported to Kharkiv.

"We looked for parachutes on the ground and in the trees. Then I saw the debris.

"Underneath the debris I saw a little girl, no more than five years old. She was lying face down. It was horrible. That was when I realised that it was a civilian plane. Not the army's," he said.

The militant, who refused to give his name and rank, claimed to be a unit member of Oplot, which, according to Corriere della Sera, was ordered to guard the location of the crash.

This new revelation came five days after pro-Russian separatist leader Igor Girkin posted on social media that the militants were involved in the MH17 incident, claiming that they had shot down the plane.

His chilling post read: "In the area Torez we just hit down An-26, it's lying somewhere in the mine 'Progress'.

"We warned you – do not fly in 'our sky'. And here is the video confirmation of the 'bird dropping'."