Putin, Russia’s MoD responsible for MH17 tragedy - Bellingcat


The Bellingcat investigation team has published a new report on downing Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 (MH17) on July 17, 2014 in eastern Ukraine.

Their previous report, Origin of the Separatists’ Buk, provided evidence supporting the hypothesis that Russian-backed separatits’ Buk-M1 missile launcher was likely responsible for downing MH17 for two primary reasons: first, it was in range of MH17 shortly before it was downed; second, a missile was missing from the Buk the morning following the downing.

Origin of the Separatists’ Buk also described two separate military convoys filmed and photographed in Russia from 23 to 25 June and from 19 to 21 July 2014. These convoys transported Buk-M1 missile launchers along with numerous other types of military vehicles from an area near Kursk to an area near the Russia-Ukraine border in the Rostov Oblast

The present report, MH17 – Potential Suspects and Witnesses from the 53 rd Anti-Aircraft Missile Brigade, conducts a deeper investigation into the 53rd Anti-Aircraft Missile Brigade, its organizational structure and placement in the Russian army, and the military vehicles involved in the June and July 2014 Buk convoys.

A number of soldiers of the Brigade’s 2nd division posted photos which prove their being at the Russian-Ukrainian border in June and July 2014.[vc_row][vc_column][vc_single_image image=”119788″ img_size=”full” title=”Phot. by Bellingcat”][/vc_column][/vc_row]In the published version of the latest report the Bellingcat team protected the soldiers’ identities. Full particulars were transferred to the International investigation team, which is probing into the case of MH17.

Bellingcat names several dozen Russian servicemen names who might have been accessory to the MH17 crash, but stresses that it is Russian president Vladimir Putin and Defense Minister Sergey Shoygu who, among others, are responsible for the deaths of the MH17 passengers.

“The decision to send military equipment to the Russia-Ukraine border and to Ukraine was made at an even higher level – the level of the Ministry of Defense of Russia, where the top positions in 2014 were fulfilled by First Deputy Minister Arkady Viktotovich Bakhin, First Deputy Minister Valery Vasilevich Gerasimov, Minister Sergey Kuzhugetovich Shoygu, and President of the Russian Federation Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin. Consistent with the probable conclusion that the Russian Buk missile launcher 3×2 downed MH17, the Ministry of Defense bears the main responsibility for the MH17 tragedy, shared with the military commanders and leaders of the self-proclaimed Donetsk and Luhansk People’s Republics,” the report reads.

Belsat.eu, following Bellingcat

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