DISINFO: The West hides important evidence on MH17 disaster
SUMMARY
The West continues to hide information. The international investigation group just continues to ignore important details that point to a series of explosions on board MH17.
RESPONSE
This is a recurring pro-Kremlin disinformation narrative about the downing of flight MH17. The version about an explosion on board the plane is one of many pro-Kremlin versions of the event. It was not confirmed by the international investigation team. In fact, in September 2016, the JIT concluded 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 – was transported back to the Russian Federation. On the 24th of May 2018, the JIT announced 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. On the basis of the investigation conducted by the JIT, consisting of law enforcement agencies from Australia, Belgium, Malaysia, Ukraine and the Netherlands, the Dutch Public Persecution service is to prosecute Igor Vsevolodovich Girkin, Sergey Nikolayevich Dubinskiy, Oleg Yuldashevich Pulatov, and Leonid Volodymyrovych Kharchenko for causing the MH17 crash and murdering the 298 persons on board. A public hearing is set for the 9th of March 2020 in the Netherlands. See here for more information. The JIT conclusions were further corroborated by Bellingcat. For the full Bellingcat report see here. For a similar case click here. For a summary of disinformation narratives on this case see here.