DISINFO: Russia is groundlessly accused of the downing of MH17
SUMMARY
The international investigation team groundlessly accused Russia in the incident, but so far no tangible arguments nor evidence were submitted.
RESPONSE
Recurring pro-Kremlin disinformation about the downing of MH17 that denies Russia's responsibility.
Contrary to the claims, the multi-national Joint Investigation Team conducted an intensive investigation, with a mountain of evidence which will be presented at the forthcoming trial. The JIT announced that it will issue international arrest warrants for three Russian military and intelligence officers – Igor Girkin, Sergey Dubinskiy, Oleg Pulatov – and Ukrainian national Leonid Kharchenko, commander of the military combat unit in Donetsk. They will be prosecuted for their involvement in the murder of the 298 passengers aboard MH17, which was brought down by a Russian Buk missile.
The Dutch-led criminal investigation by the Joint Investigation Team (JIT) has been ongoing since 2014. On 28 September 2016, the JIT announced that flight MH17 was shot down by a missile from the 9M38 series, which was launched by a BUK TELAR missile system. The system was transported from the Russian Federation to an agricultural field near the town of Pervomaiskyi in Eastern Ukraine, from where the missile was launched. After firing, the system - with one missing missile - went back to the Russian Federation. On the 24 May 2018, the JIT announced its conclusion that the BUK TELAR used to shoot down MH17 came from the 53rd Anti-Aircraft Missile Brigade, a unit of the Russian armed forces from Kursk in the Russian Federation.
In 2018, Bellingcat also established that two people who, with great certainty, were involved in the MH17 disaster are the two Russian army high-ranking officers: GRU officer Oleh Ivannikov and General-Colonel Nikolai Tkachev.
See similar cases: "The task of the JIT is not to conduct an objective investigation, but to blame Russia for the tragedy", "MH17 investigation is biased", "There is still no evidence of Russian involvement in the MH17 disaster".