The children’s BUK-beds are part of a “defenders of the motherland” series to encourage children to be soldiers.
It was a BUK missile, fired from pro-Moscow rebel territory in eastern Ukraine, that downed a Malaysia Airlines Flight MH17 on 17 July 2014, according to Dutch-led investigators last week.
“When the investigation (MH17) is over, there will be tens of thousands of children with BUKs in their bedrooms,” went one comment on the beds. “It will be impossible to establish the actual guilty party.”
It was not immediately clear how the comment tallies with the report that the MH17 was downed from pro-Moscow rebel territory in eastern Ukraine.
Another comment on the beds, reported by the Mirror, suggests that “maybe we should forbid children to play at ‘war’?”
CaroBus Director Anton Koppel “doesn’t see anything abnormal in a bed like this”.
“Some (children) grow up to be doctors, others bakers, and some soldiers,” he told Fontanka News Agency.
Prominent journalist Oleg Kashin wonders if it’s some kind of “joke”.
“Will there be burnt toys as a bonus?” went one critical comment on the CaroBus product page site.
The BUK-bed comes with a Russian flag. It has a base in the form of a BUK M-1 launcher in position for missile launch. The sleeping area is 38 cm above the floor.
Again, it was a BUK M-1 that shot down MH17.
CaroBus has also other beds in its collection: a Patriot tank, a London bus with a UK flag, a pink Princess bed in the form of a royal carriage, a pirate boat and a Lamborghini.
The advertising on the website promoting the beds referred to the BUK M-1 launcher bed as “a new model from our factory”.
The advertising explained that “we specialise in selling creative children’s furniture, like beds designed as cars, ships and many other models”.
The clients, according to the advertising, were satisfied with the quality of the products. “The most satisfied were children who bought and continue to buy these beds,” said the website.
Moscow has denied allegations that MH17 was downed by a BUK missile driven from Russia into rebel territory and then driven back after the strike.
It claims the investigators have ignored crucial evidence pointing the fingers of blame at the Ukrainian Army.