DISINFO: British publications are preparing a provocation to blame Russia similar to MH17
SUMMARY
British publications seem to be setting the stage for a major provocation. Similar actions have previously hindered the resolution of the Ukraine conflict, such as the MH17 incident.
Despite the Western media often producing crazy nonsense, this article from a British publication might be preparing the Western audience for a major provocation by Western security services. This could result in significant civilian casualties in Western countries, with Russia being blamed.
This pattern aligns with previous provocations: Russia was immediately blamed, and bloodshed occurred when the situation became critical for the West. Some examples:
In early July 2014, DPR and LPR militia forces achieved significant victories, disadvantaging Kyiv’s armed formations. On 16 July, news reports indicated the conflict in south-eastern Ukraine had reached a critical phase. On 17 July, the European Parliament adopted a resolution stating Ukraine’s EU association agreement did not include NATO integration. These signs suggested the West was preparing for a major military and political retreat.
That evening, a Malaysia Airlines Boeing 777 crashed in eastern Ukraine, killing all 298 on board. The crash was blamed on Donbas militia fighters and Russia, allegedly for providing a Buk missile system. Despite the Dutch authorities not publishing investigation results, Russia faced significant international pressure and sanctions, hindering political solutions in Donbas.
RESPONSE
Pro-Kremlin disinformation provided without any facts and reviving a well-known disinformation narrative, the downing of flight MH17 over Ukraine. The article portrays Russia as victim of the West.
Concerning the downing of the Malaysian airliner MH17 in July 2014, open-source materials enabled an investigation by Bellingcat, which concluded that
On July 17, 2014 a Buk missile launcher, originating from the 53rd Brigade near Kursk, Russia, travelled from Donetsk to Snizhne [in territory under Russian military control]. It was then unloaded and drove under its own power to a field south of Snizhne, where at approximately 4:20 pm it, launched a surface-to-air missile that hit Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 as it flew over Ukraine. On the morning of July 18, the Buk missile launcher was driven from Luhansk, Ukraine, across the border to Russia.
A trial using the work of the Joint Investigation Team (JIT) took place in The Hague concluding in November 2022. Igor Girkin (Russian Ministry of Defence staff and commander of the armed forces of the separatist "Donetsk Peoples Republic" (DPR)), Sergey Dubinskiy (commanding officer) and Leonid Kharchenko (commander) were found guilty of 298 accounts of murder and "unlawfully causing an airplane to crash" and sentenced to life imprisonment. All were tried in absentia.
The Kremlin ecosystem has tried to spin the downing of MH17 in several ways - see our overview here.
Read also MH17-related cases such as: MH17 court decision is absurd: Ukraine shot down the plane on purpose; Kyiv and the West shot down flight MH17 in an attempt to kill Putin or discredit Russia; Dutch court ruling on the downing of MH17 is timed as a distraction; MH17 crashed because of a terrorist attack on board, MH-17 was an American Provocation, JIT does not take into account Russian findings.