Editing Korean Air Lines Flight 007 (section)

====Soviet command hierarchy of shoot-down====
The Soviet real-time military communication transcripts of the shoot-down suggest the chain of command from the top general to Major Osipovich, the Su-15 interceptor pilot who shot down KAL&nbsp;007.<ref>{{Cite news |newspaper=The New York Times |title=Interview |first=Gennady |last=Osipovich |date=September 9, 1996}}</ref><ref name="ICAO93-190">ICAO '93, Information Paper No. 1, p. 190</ref> In reverse order, they are:

* Major Gennadiy Nikolayevich Osipovich,
* Captain Titovnin, Combat Control Center – Fighter Division
* Lt. Colonel Maistrenko, Smirnykh Air Base Fighter Division Acting Chief of Staff, confirmed the shoot-down order to Titovnin.{{blockquote|Titovnin: "You confirm the task?"<br />Maistrenko: "Yes."}}
* Lt. Colonel Gerasimenko, Acting Commander, 41st Fighter Regiment.{{blockquote|Gerasimenko: (to Kornukov) "Task received. Destroy target 60–65 with missile fire. Accept control of fighter from Smirnikh.}}
* General Anatoly Kornukov, Commander of Sokol Air Base – Sakhalin.{{blockquote|Kornukov: (to Gerasimenko) "I repeat the task, Fire the missiles, Fire on target 60–65. Destroy target 60–65&nbsp;... Take control of the MiG 23 from Smirnikh, call sign 163, call sign 163. He is behind the target at the moment. Destroy the target!... Carry out the task! Destroy it!"}}
* General Valery Kamensky, Commander of Far East Military District Air Defense Forces.{{blockquote|Kornukov: (To Kamensky) "... simply destroy [it] even if it is over neutral waters? Are the orders to destroy it over neutral waters? Oh, well."}}
* Army General [[Ivan Tretyak|Ivan Moiseevich Tretyak]], Commander of the Far East Military District.{{blockquote|"Weapons were used, weapons authorized at the highest level. Ivan Moiseevich authorized it. Hello, hello.", "Say again.", "I cannot hear you clearly now.", "He gave the order. Hello, hello, hello.", "Yes, yes.", "Ivan Moiseevich gave the order, Tretyak.", "Roger, roger.", "Weapons were used at his order."<ref name="ICAO93-60 61">ICAO '93, Information Paper 1, pp. 60, 61</ref>}}