DISINFO: Dutch court ruling on the downing of MH17 is timed as a distraction
SUMMARY
The timely ruling by a Dutch court attesting the responsibility of Donbas separatists and Russian intelligence services in the 2014 downing of the Malaysia Airlines plane is a weapon of mass distraction to make people forget that Zelenskyy, in order not to be dethroned, fired missiles at Poland and brought the world to the brink of a world war. This ruling was rightly deemed scandalous by the Russian authorities because of so many inconsistencies and absurdities.
RESPONSE
Recurrent pro-Kremlin disinformation narrative on the downing of flight MH17 over Ukraine, aiming to discredit the criminal trial and the Joint Investigation Team (JIT).
Russia denies its responsibility for shooting down Malaysia Airlines flight MH17 over Donbas on 17 July 2014 and blames Ukraine.
In reality, the Joint Investigation Team (JIT) has come up with enough evidence of direct Russian involvement in shooting down this civilian plane. The JIT announced in September 2016 that the plane was shot down by a missile from the BUK 9M38 series, which was launched by a BUK TELAR missile system. In May 2018, the JIT announced its conclusion that the missile which shot down the plane came from Russia’s 53rd Anti-Aircraft Missile Brigade. It is stationed in the Kursk Region bordering Ukraine.
On 17 November 2022, the Dutch court ruled against four suspects in the downing of Malaysian Airlines Flight MH17. The Court sentenced three suspects to life imprisonment for their involvement in the downing of flight MH17, which led to the tragic loss of 298 lives. Suspects have been tried in absentia.
Read here the full statement of High Representative Josep Borrell on the Malaysian Airlines Flight MH17 court ruling.
The timing of the ruling has nothing to do with the missile incident in Poland, which happened on 15 November 2022.
On November 15, Russian armed forces launched yet another missile barrage against civilian infrastructure across Ukraine. The timing of the Russian strikes was particularly cynical, as the two-day G20 Bali summit had just kicked off with the Russian invasion of Ukraine and potential avenues to end the war as agenda items.
As Russian missiles rained down on Kyiv and elsewhere in Ukraine – some missiles reached their targets, most being intercepted by Ukrainian air defences – something exploded in the Polish village of Przewodów, killing two Polish citizens.
Regardless of the final outcome of the still ongoing official Polish investigation, one fact is clear. Two Polish citizens lost their lives because of Russia’s continuing military aggression against Ukraine and their reckless missile strike campaign against civilians and civilian infrastructure in Ukraine.
Read also our article on the missile incident in Poland.
Read also related stories: JIT excluded Russia from MH17 probe, ignored Moscow-supplied evidence, No evidence for Russian involvement in MH17, JIT excluded Russia from MH17 probe, ignored Russian evidence.