In a 1991 interview, Osipovich said he told ground controllers he saw the aircraft’s “blinking lights.” “I saw two rows of windows and knew that this was a Boeing. I knew this was a civilian plane. But for me this meant nothing. It is easy to turn a civilian type of plane into one for military use.”
Osipovich added, “I did not tell the ground that it was a Boeing-type plane; they did not ask me.” KAL 007 began to ascend to conserve fuel, slowing gradually. The Soviets saw this as an evasive maneuver and ordered it destroyed before the faster interceptors overshot it and it left Soviet airspace.
Reading the ICAO report, the Soviets were so poorly organized. They even believed the KC-135 or a 747 transport (!) could carry rear facing guns, a factor in some hurry in shooting it down.
Wow. I was hoping for some remorse, but got cold hard nails.