"The data of the Russian Federation are ignored": in Russia they called unfounded accusations from the SSG in the case of MH17

The International Joint Investigation Team (SSG) to investigate the collapse of the Malaysian Boeing in the skies over the Donbass announced the names of the first four suspects in the crash of flight MH17. The members of the SSG, which includes representatives from Australia, Belgium, Malaysia, the Netherlands and Ukraine, reported this at a special press conference in Newwegain.

“We have reached that stage (of the investigation. - RT ) when the prosecution can begin. We are talking about four suspects who are involved in the transportation of the Buk anti-aircraft complex to the territory of eastern Ukraine, ”said Prosecutor General of the Netherlands Fred Westerbeke.

The representative of the SSG recalled that, according to the findings of the investigation, the flight from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur Boeing 777 was shot down in the skies over the Donetsk region on July 17, 2014 with a 9M38 missile fired from the Buk anti-aircraft missile system. Moreover, the SSG, citing information received by it, claims that this air defense system was allegedly brought to the Donbass from the territory of the Russian Federation (from the 53rd anti-aircraft missile brigade of the air defense forces near Kursk), and after the attack, “returned to Russia”.

According to Wilbert Paulissen, head of the investigation department of the national police of the Netherlands, about 100 people were suspected of being involved in the crash during the examination of the circumstances of the case, but as the SSG worked, the circle of suspects was narrowed, and as a result, four people were charged.

“Today we will send international requests for the arrest of four suspects who will be put on the international wanted list. We are talking about Igor Girkin, Sergey Dubinsky, Oleg Pulatov and Leonid Kharchenko, ”said Paulissen.

He explained that the investigation suspects three citizens of Russia: the former Minister of Defense of the DPR, Igor Girkin (Strelkov), the former head of the DPR intelligence, Sergei Dubinsky (call sign “Gloomy”) and his former deputy Oleg Pulatov (call sign “Thunderstorm”), as well as a citizen of Ukraine Leonid Kharchenko (call sign "Mole"). They were allegedly involved in the transportation of "Buka" to the territory of Ukraine.

The representative of the VCG added that in their work the investigators took into account the findings of forensic examinations, the analysis of video and photographic materials, including satellite images, communication data and so-called big data (big data), as well as information from social networks.

“In this investigation, a great role is played by data obtained from social networks. We receive them daily using analysis tools, including computer programs. We collect this information, analyze it, and this process continues, the investigation is not yet completed, ”added Paulissen.

Representatives of the GMS added that the start of the trial in this case is scheduled for March 9, 2020. It is also noted that the prosecutor's office will fully state its position in court, to which the presumption of innocence applies to suspects.

“So far we are talking only about accusations, the verdict will be handed down by the court in The Hague ... In the near future we will send to Russia a request for the extradition of these persons in order to interrogate them regarding the suspicions. There will be no request for extradition from our side, ”the representative of the SSG added.

• Debris at the crash site of the Malaysian Boeing
• Reuters
• © Antonio Bronic

Answering journalists' questions following a press conference, representatives of the SSG accused Moscow of not “providing any details” of the disaster, although the Russian side repeatedly sent materials to the investigation that shed light on the collapse of MH17.

Responding to a question from a journalist about the fact that the rocket fired could belong to Ukraine, Wilbert Paulissen said that the information provided by Russia on ammunition was studied along with other data. However, the circumstances of an emergency have not been reliably established.

“We are studying including information coming from Russia. So far, we do not have a complete picture of what happened with this rocket. But the lack of evidence does not mean that they are not in principle, ”the police spokesman said.

He added that experts should look into all the materials, but he refused to specify which specialists conduct this work.

Shortly after the end of the press conference in Newwegain, it became known that the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) had raised suspicions to four citizens in the case of the crash of the Malaysian Boeing.

"Investigators of the Main Investigation Department of the Security Service of Ukraine under the procedural guidance of the Prosecutor General of Ukraine in criminal proceedings, registered on July 17, 2014 on the fact of shooting down a passenger plane Boeing 777 (flight MH17) of Malaysian Airlines, which resulted in the death of 298 people, a message of suspicion was compiled ", - said in a statement on the site office.

The former head of the DPR Defense Ministry Igor Girkin (Strelkov), commenting on the data released, once again denied any involvement of the militia in the collapse of the Malaysian Boeing.

“I will repeat what I have been writing and saying from July 2014 to the present day:“ The Boeing militia did not shoot down. I do not give any comments regarding this tragedy, as well as the progress of the investigation in this case, ”Girkin said.

In turn, the Russian Foreign Ministry expressed regret over the regular batch of unsubstantiated accusations against Moscow, aimed at discrediting the Russian Federation in the eyes of the international community. The ministry drew attention to the fact that during the press conference of the VAC once again, not a single concrete evidence was demonstrated to back up such unlawful statements.

“SSG continues to be limited to not quite intelligible arguments, formulated including with the support of dubious sources of information. At the same time, the data provided to the investigation by the Russian side are still stubbornly ignored, ”the Foreign Ministry said.

They paid special attention to the fact that the investigation accuses Moscow of allegedly refusing to fully cooperate, although from the first day of the tragedy the Russian Federation actively interacted with the Netherlands and provided all the available information.

“As part of this work, the Russian specialized agencies carried out a huge amount of unprecedented work: from declassifying data on Russian military equipment and conducting a complex experiment by the Almaz-Antey concern to transmitting primary radar data and documentation proving the Ukrainian identity of the missile that shot down the Malaysian Boeing, and also high-precision examinations proving the falsified video materials on which the SSG relies in its conclusions, ”the Foreign Ministry stressed.

In addition, the international investigation team has barred Moscow from working together fully, while Kiev is a full member of the SSG and can not only forge evidence, but also try to negate the responsibility for the airspace in the sky above the conflict zone was not closed.

In this regard, the Russian side expresses fears about the bias and one-sidedness of the ongoing investigations by the SVG, although it intends to continue to assist the investigation in order to establish the truth and punish the real perpetrators of the death of flight MH17.

• Debris at the crash site of the Malaysian Boeing
• Reuters
• © Maxim Zmeyev / File

According to the military political scientist, head of the department of political science and sociology of the PRUE. Plekhanov Andrei Koshkin, is outrageous that the positioning itself as an authoritative and objective investigation team does not take into account the evidence that the rocket that shot down Boeing was transferred to Ukraine long ago and was on its territory as part of the Ukrainian unit.

“These are the photos related to the transportation of the air defense system, - everyone laughs at them that this is a rough installation. Moreover, they rely on social networks and are proud of it ... I do not see the desire of this commission to seriously investigate and investigate the objective evidence that Russia provides, ”the source added.

“We can see the political commitment of the commission members, who are extremely hostile and accuse Russia. The main issue of the conference is to link the crash of an aircraft with Russia ... Ukraine is officially accused as a state of not having closed the airspace over the territory where military operations are taking place. In the Netherlands they know it, and the Prosecutor General of Ukraine sits at a press conference and answers questions, ”Koshkin said.

According to the military expert, retired colonel Viktor Litovkin, it was initially obvious that the SSG was engaged in falsifying the circumstances of the MH17 tragedy for political purposes.

“The investigation team has not yet raised the question of why the sky over Ukraine, where the hostilities took place, was not closed. The investigation team did not take into account any argument that Russia presented, including a study that proves that the rocket flew from the territory of Ukraine ... There are many signs that Ukraine is to blame for this tragedy, ”the expert noted.

He stressed that over the past five years, attempts are continuing to provide falsified data, including using information from social networks, so there is no confidence in what is happening.

“Yes, they can create a trial of those people who did not take part in this tragedy, and pretend that they have fulfilled their task. In fact, they do nothing. They simply spend taxpayers' money and falsify data in order to hide the crime that was committed by the Ukrainian regime, ”summed up Litovkin.