When a Russian missile hit the MH17 passenger aircraft over eastern Ukraine on July 17, 2014, all 298 people died on board. Investigators in the Netherlands are now bringing new serious allegations against the Russian government.
According to a new investigation, the links between the leadership of the separatists in eastern Ukraine, who fired the deadly projectile, and Russia are closer than previously known. Investigator Andy Kraag of the international investigation team JIT (Joint Investigation Team) said.
The JIT published telephone footage featuring Vladislav Surkov, a close adviser to Kremlin leader Vladimir Putin. According to Kraag, the voice record shows that the contacts of the Russian government went well beyond military aid.
The recordings now published are meant to prove that the separatists had direct contact with Russian government officials. Russia vehemently denies militarily supporting or even controlling the separatists.
REUTERS
Crash site in Donbass
According to JIT Investigator Kraag, the self-styled former head of rebel government in the so-called Donetsk People's Republic, Alexander Borodaj, and then-military chief Igor Girkin (called Strelkov) had telephone contact with Putin consultant Surkov.
Kraag called witnesses with a view to the recordings to report to the investigators. The investigators want to find out from whom exactly the rebels were controlled and commanded. The accusation that the separatists are controlled from Moscow has existed for a long time. Russia vehemently denies having anything to do with the launch of the MH17.
In June, the commission of inquiry in the Netherlands had named the names of four suspects who were responsible for the shooting. At the same time, she had announced further investigations.
According to previous findings, the plane was shot down on its way from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur by separatists in the war zone of Donbass in eastern Ukraine. They are said to have fired a rocket at the machine with a Russian air defense system Buk.
For the first time, the bloody conflict between Ukrainian government forces and the separatists supported by Russia received an international dimension. According to Uno estimates, around 13,000 people have died in the conflict so far.
The European Union pledged its support to bring justice to the victims and their survivors. At the same time, she had asked Russia to cooperate with the investigators. In the Netherlands, the trial of the four suspects is due to begin in March 2020. However, Russia does not want to extradite the men.
The Russian Foreign Ministry again rejected the new allegations of launching the Malaysian passenger aircraft. Everything else means adapting the material to the verdict, "said spokeswoman Maria Sakharova of the Interfax agency. The material submitted should merely prove "the tactic of the indictment". The information provided by the JIT international investigation team would now have to be verified by experts.
