Tony Abbott Says He Should Have Done More Than ‘Shirtfront’ Putin Following MH17 Tragedy

Former Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott believes he should have done more than threaten to “shirtfront,” or frontal charge, Russian President Vladimir Putin following the downing of MH17. Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 was allegedly shot down by a Russian BUK missile system on July 17, 2014, while it was travelling over eastern Ukraine. All 298 passengers and crew on the flight, which had been travelling from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur, were killed. On the 10th anniversary, Mr. Abbott said the incident was more than a tragedy—it was an atrocity. “This was a Russian missile battery which came into Ukraine, fired at an aircraft without much thought as to what it really was, and brought down a civilian airliner with 298 innocent people onboard, including 38 Australians,” Mr. Abbott told the ABC. ...