Dutch journalist claims evidence MH17 shot down by Russian BUK missile

[Hindustani78]

Grybauskaite says Russia hides MH17 truth - read on - uatoday.tv

Global leaders condemn Russia's Security Council MH17 veto

UNIAN: Lithuanian president Dalia Grybauskaite commented on Russia's MH17 tribunal veto, saying the country is hiding something.

"I believe this is a very clear signal of Russia aiming to avoid the investigation, which shows that the country has something to hide," Grybauskaite told Vilnius journalists on Friday, according to Delfi.lt

As reported earlier, 11 members of the UN Security Council, including Lithuania, supported the resolution on setting up an MH17 international criminal tribunal in a July 29 vote, but the draft still failed to pass as Russia exercised its right of veto, while three members of the UN Security Council – China, Venezuela and Angola – abstained.

On July 17, 2014 Malaysia Airlines Flight MH17 was downed over eastern Ukraine, killing all 298 people on board. Two-thirds of the victims were Dutch nationals. Russia's move follows reports that Dutch crash investigators concluded that evidence showed the aircraft was shot down by Russian-backed militants with a Russian surface-to-air missile.

 

[Hindustani78]

Australia says will continue push for MH17 prosecution | Zee News

Sydney: Australia vowed Saturday no let up in its quest to prosecute those who shot down flight MH17 over Ukraine, saying Russia`s veto of a UN resolution raised further questions about its involvement.

Moscow Wednesday vetoed a move to establish a special tribunal to try those responsible, while Angola, China and Venezuela abstained.

Eleven of the 15 members of the Security Council voted in favour of the resolution, drafted by Australia, Belgium, Malaysia, the Netherlands and Ukraine.

All 298 passengers and crew on board the Boeing 777 were killed when the Malaysia Airlines plane was blown out of the sky over Ukraine during a routine flight between Amsterdam and Kuala Lumpur on July 17 last year.

Countries including Australia, Britain, France and the US accuse pro-Russian separatist rebels of shooting it down with a Buk surface-to-air missile supplied by Russia.

Moscow denies involvement and blames the Ukrainian military.

"We are absolutely determined to provide answers to those families," Foreign Minister Julie Bishop told Channel Seven of those who died.

The victims were mostly Dutch but included 38 Australian citizens and residents.

"The five nations -- the Netherlands, Malaysia, Belgium, Australia and the Ukraine -- are determined to continue to find an alternative mechanism.

"We will be meeting again shortly and we will come up with a way that will hold the perpetrators of this atrocity to account."

She added that the importance of tracking down the culprits was broader than just the need for closure for the families of those who died.

"Of course, we`re doing this for the families, but the broader international community, civil aviation must be seen to be safe," she said.

"People must be able to put their faith and their trust in commercial airlines and travelling on commercial planes.

"And so, we need to send a very strong message to those responsible for this that they can`t hide, that they will be held to account and they will be able to present their response to a court and a court will hold them to account."

In defending the veto, Moscow said Russian investigators had been denied equal access to the crash site and criticised what he said would have been criminal prosecution carried out "in a closed fashion".

But Bishop said the reaction raised more questions than answers.

"Surely, if Russia had evidence as to what happened, that was able to point the finger in another direction, why wouldn`t Russia want that to be heard before an independent, impartial tribunal that had the backing of the international community through the UN Security Council?" she said.

"So I think that Russia just raised more questions than it answered."

AFP

 

[Hindustani78]

Opinion: Russia's UN Council veto will not salvage its reputation - EN.DELFI
Friday, August 7, 2015

Last Thursday's UN Security Council vote on the resolution, submitted by Malaysia and supported by other nations, to set up an international tribunal for the MH17 downing over Donbass failed because Russia used its power to veto it. Opinion: Russia's UN Council veto will not salvage its reputation © Organizatorių archyvo nuotr. It makes one wonder when a country, which alleges it has no part in a conflict, opposes an international investigation into a crime perpetuated not against its nationals, not in its territory and, if we were to believe Russia's Investigation Committee, by forces of a foreign nation. By contrast, this other nation accused by Russia of the crime, Ukraine, fully supports the tribunal.

Russia's veto does nothing so salvage its reputation as the shadow of the shot-down Malaysia Airlines plane falls heavily on the Kremlin. Law needs an unambiguously provable fact and the MH17 crash might be just the thread that will let penal codes to frame a narrow passage to the Russian president. Just like Mafia head Al Capone was once put to jail for failing to pay his taxes. Just like the impeachment procedure against [Lithuania's former president] Rolandas Paksas pointed out clear-cut illegal deeds for which he was removed from the presidency.

As I've argued before, Russia's entire tactics consists of backing down, as slowly as possible, from forged accusations against Ukraine and throwing out different versions in order to drown facts in information noise. The Russian argument that setting up a UN tribunal would be "premtature" is unconvincing, because tribunals for crimes in Yugoslavia and Rwanda had been set up before the respective investigations concluded. The Kremlin is afraid, because the two looked not only into the executors, but also the leaders who gave orders and backed the crimes.

Russia's defence is not limited to procedural tricks. Mobilizing its army at the Ukrainian border, it is threatening with a large-scale war. The separatists have unexpectedly and silently pushed back their heavy weaponry over these last few days, which hints at a possibility of de-escalation.

But sticks prevail over carrots once again: several weeks ago, Georgia had its territory intruded several kilometres behind the demarcation line; after Vladimir Putin's phone conversation with the Dutch prime minister, Russia said it might ban imports of Dutch flowers because they contain some bacteria. This is hardly different from the cheese war against Lithuania or the canned fish war against Latvia.

But now the level-minded people of the Netherlands are facing a moral dilemma: on the one end of the scale, there is the lucrative flower export to Russia, on the other, the MH17 crash victims, of whom 193 were their countrymen. I have no doubts about what the Dutch will choose.

Alongside the Dutch Safety Board report, there is also the Joint Investigation Group looking into the crash, also led by the Netherlands. A spokesman for the Dutch prosecutors said on 16 July that the perpetrators might be charged with murder and military crimes.

The Dutch prosecutors said they had not expected to reach as far as they did. After Russia vetoed the resolution on setting up a tribunal in the UN Security Council, there is the option of bringing the issue before the UN General Assembly which will convene in September and does not recognize a veto right. Another possibility is to bring in national courts with international participation.

In my view, the investigation of the MH17 crash will eventually become the trial of the crimes of Putin's regime; this crime takes the Kremlin out of the zone of vague condemnation into one of criminal law.

The West has now the chance to use its main weapon against Putinism: the rule of law. Russia's attempts to put a spoke in the wheel of the process suggest that the Putinists are essentially unable to grasp the rule of law, to realize that there is no impunity and that even Russia's assistance in securing the nuclear deal with Iran will not help them earn immunity. This is how the democratic civilization of the West, which protects its citizens, differs from the authoritarian Kremlin that can disavow its own soldiers without a blink and believes that flowers and butter can be traded for values.

 

[Hindustani78]

Buk missile fragments found at MH17 crash site in Ukraine | Zee News
Last Updated: Tuesday, August 11, 2015 - 18:55

The Hague: In what may be the first physical evidence linking a missile to the crash of Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 last year in Ukraine, Dutch investigators on Tuesday claimed having stumbled upon fragments of Buk missile at the crash site.

The Malaysia Airlines Boeing-777 with 298 people aboard was flying from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur, when it was shot down over eastern Ukraine`s war zone on July 17, 2014

It has been repeatedly being claimed that the plane was shot down by a Buk missile - a Russian surface-to-air missile.

Last month a CNN report also revealed that an investigative report authored by the Dutch Safety Board, has found pro-Russian rebels responsible for shooting the plane down.

The report has not been officially released and is to come by October-end this year.

Though the investigators have previously said that a missile strike is the most likely explanation for the crash, they have never revealed that they are in possession of possible missile parts.

The investigators, who are spearheading an international criminal probe into the crash of MH17, said that the fragments can “possibly provide more information about who was involved in the crash of MH17."

However, they cautioned that the conclusion cannot yet be drawn "that there is a causal connection between the discovered parts and the crash of flight MH17."

Prosecutors will now enlist the help of weapons and forensics experts to further investigate the suspected missile parts, said spokesman Wim de Bruin. He declined to give more details of the parts that are under investigation.

The parts were found during Dutch recovery missions to the crash site. Dutch authorities have conducted several missions to the site to recover human remains, victims' belongings and parts of the downed Boeing 777.

With Agency Inputs

 

[Hindustani78]

Dutch prosecutors won't publicize results of MH17 crash probe sooner than late 2015 or early 2016 – Dutch prosecutor

The Dutch National Public Prosecutor's Office may publicize any specific results of its criminal investigation into the crash of a Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 (MH17) in eastern Ukraine any earlier than at the end of 2015 or the beginning of 2016, Dutch National Public Prosecutor's Office spokesperson Wim de Bruin told Interfax on Wednesday.

De Bruin said an international group of investigators has been making progress in the investigation from day to day.

A Boeing 777 of Malaysia Airlines on an MH17 flight from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur crashed near the village of Hrabove, not far from the town of Torez, eastern Donetsk region, in the armed conflict zone in eastern Ukraine, on July 17, 2014. All 283 passengers and 15 crew members on board were killed.

The Netherlands has led two parallel investigations into the MH17 crash. One of these has been conducted under the auspices of the Dutch Safety Board and is aimed at uncovering the technical causes of the crash. Taking part in this investigation are representatives from Australia, Malaysia, the Netherlands, Russia, the United Kingdom and the United States, and its results are expected in October 2015.

At the same time, the Dutch National Public Prosecutor's Office is conducting a criminal probe into the disaster aimed at identifying those responsible for it. Taking part in this investigation are officials from Australia, Belgium, Malaysia, the Netherlands and Ukraine. No Russian investigators are involved in this investigation.

 

[Hindustani78]

Final MH17 report due October 13: Dutch investigators | Zee News

The Hague: The final report into the downing of Malaysia Airlines flight MH17 over war-torn eastern Ukraine last year will be released in October 13, Dutch investigators said today.

"The Dutch Safety Board (OVV) informed relatives and the accredited representatives to the investigation that the board will publish the final report on the investigation into flight MH17 on 13 October 2015," the board said in a statement.

"Prior to the official publication of the report, the relatives will be informed about the conclusions of the investigation during a closed information meeting," the OVV added.

The passenger jet was shot down over Ukraine on July 17 last year, during heavy fighting between government forces and pro-Russian separatists. All 298 people onboard -- mainly Dutch -- were killed.

The Netherlands has been leading teams of international investigators to retrieve body parts, probe the cause of the incident and eventually prosecute those responsible.

The OVV is charged with looking into the exact cause of the crash but will not identify those responsible.

Ukraine and many in the West have accused the rebels of blowing the Boeing 777 out of the sky, saying they may have used a BUK missile supplied by Russia.

Moscow and the rebels deny any responsibility and point the finger at Ukraine's military.

A preliminary Dutch report released last September said the plane had been hit by numerous "high-energy objects".

Dutch prosecutors leading the criminal probe, assisted by experts from Australia, Belgium, Malaysia and the Ukraine, earlier this month announced they have found fragments "probably" from a Russian-made surface-to-air missile at the crash site.

AFP

 

[Hindustani78]

NYT: Tribunal may be formed for Malaysia Flight 17 jet lost over Ukraine - read on - uatoday.tv
Sep. 24, 2015
Five countries may establish their own MH17 tribunal after Russia blocked UN decision

Blocked by Russia at the United Nations, members seeking criminal accountability for the Malaysian jetliner destroyed in eastern Ukraine last year may create their own prosecution tribunal, Australia's foreign minister said Wednesday.

The minister, Julie Bishop, said such a tribunal was among the narrowed options now under consideration by the core group of nations that has been leading the effort for victim justice in the destruction of the jetliner, Malaysia Airlines Flight 17.

Ms. Bishop said ministers from those nations — Australia, Belgium, Malaysia, the Netherlands and Ukraine — would meet at the United Nations next Tuesday, during the annual General Assembly meeting of world leaders, for further discussions.

 

[Hindustani78]

Family of three MH370 passengers sue Malaysia Airlines | Zee News
Last Updated: Friday, September 25, 2015 - 16:23

Kuala Lumpur: Family members of three passengers of the missing Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 are suing the airline and four others for breach of contract and negligence, the media reported on Friday.

The family is asking for public apology the airline, the Malaysian government and three others and for damages to be assessed for the loss of support as a result of the deaths of Tan Ah Meng, 46, and Chuang Hsiu Ling, 45, both directors of an engineering and construction company, the Malaysian Star reported.

On the same flight was the couple`s eldest son, Tan Wei Chew, 19.

The plaintiffs are the two sons of the Tan and Chuang - Wei Hong, 15, and Tan Wei Jie, 13, Ah Meng`s parents Tan Hun Khong and Lai Chew Lai, and Hsiu Ling`s mother Chuang Hung Chien.

In the suit filed on August 28 and made available to media on Friday, the plaintiffs are also claiming for general damages, aggravated and exemplary damages, bereavement and further relief deemed fit by the court.

Their lawyer, Sangeet Kaur Deo said the suit is fixed for case management before High Court deputy registrar Norfauzani Mohd Nordin on October 5.

They said first defendant Malaysia Airlines had entered into a contract with the deceased when they purchased their air tickets for the flight but claimed that the airline company had breached its obligations to them.

They said the airline also breached its duty of care in providing the flight service.

Among others, the children said they have lost their parents and older sibling resulting in them becoming orphans overnight, and suffered loss of financial support, loss of parental love and affection, loss of family stability and parental guidance, and irreparable psychological damage and trauma.

They have named Malaysia Airlines System Bhd, Malaysia Airlines Bhd, the Department Civil Aviation (DCA) director-general, Royal Malaysian Air Force chief and the government as defendants.

In the statement of claim, they said the DCA director-general was responsible for the provision of air traffic services for the safe and efficient conduct of flights within Malaysian airspace and had breached the related duty.

The air force chief, the suit said, owed a duty to investigate and verify any unusual, unidentified, unmarked and unaccounted for aircraft appearing on its radars and had failed in the duty.

The suit said the government was liable for the acts of other defendants who were said negligent in discharging in their duties in the course of their employment and it also failed in its duty to manage the disappearance of the aircraft with due care, respect, transparency and accountability, causing further trauma and pain.

DCA director-general Azharuddin Abdul Rahman announced on January 29 on behalf of the government that the families of those onboard Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370 can move forward to seek compensation now that the aircraft`s disappearance has been officially declared as an accident with all 239 passengers and crew presumed dead.

The aircraft took off from Kuala Lumpur on March 8, 2014, to Beijing. It lost contact shortly after take-off and has never been found till date.

IANS


First Published: Friday, September 25, 2015 - 16:22

 

[Hindustani78]

Ukraine ex-security official doubts MH17 report will give answers| Reuters
Fri Oct 9, 2015 9:57am EDT

A former top official in Ukraine's security service said on Friday he doubted a final international report on the crash of Malaysian Airlines flight MH17 would provide conclusive answers.

The Dutch Safety Board report, to be published on Oct. 13, is keenly awaited by governments and relatives of victims who hope it can shed light on responsibility for the crash over east Ukraine last year in which 298 people were killed.

Vasyl Vovk, who was involved in investigating the crash as chief investigator for Ukraine's SBU security service until June this year, said it was clear the plane was shot down by a Russian missile on behalf of pro-Russian separatist rebels

"I am confident that this missile system was delivered from the territory of the Russian Federation with a high-skilled crew - most likely a crew of well-trained officers, of course from Russian territory," he told Reuters.

However Vovk said he doubted whether the Oct. 13 report would reach the same conclusion.

"I have doubts that we will see these conclusions on Oct. 13 ... And if we see them, then I doubt that these conclusions will be either unambiguous or final," he said.

In a preliminary report last year, the Board blamed the crash on "high energy objects" striking the aircraft. Western governments have said they believe it was downed by a ground-to-air missile fired in error by Moscow-backed separatists.

Russia contests that claim, and has variously attributed the crash to an unidentified Ukrainian fighter aircraft and a Ukrainian-launched anti-aircraft missile. The Netherlands has avoided committing itself to any theory.

Two-thirds of the victims were Dutch and the Netherlands is leading the judicial and air safety investigations into the crash, which contributed to bringing relations between Russia and the West to their lowest ebb since the Cold War.

(Reporting by Serhiy Karaziy; Writing by Alessandra Prentice and Tom Heneghan)

 

[Penguin]

Ukraine ex-security official doubts MH17 report will give answers| Reuters
Fri Oct 9, 2015 9:57am EDT

A former top official in Ukraine's security service said on Friday he doubted a final international report on the crash of Malaysian Airlines flight MH17 would provide conclusive answers.

The Dutch Safety Board report, to be published on Oct. 13, is keenly awaited by governments and relatives of victims who hope it can shed light on responsibility for the crash over east Ukraine last year in which 298 people were killed.

Vasyl Vovk, who was involved in investigating the crash as chief investigator for Ukraine's SBU security service until June this year, said it was clear the plane was shot down by a Russian missile on behalf of pro-Russian separatist rebels

"I am confident that this missile system was delivered from the territory of the Russian Federation with a high-skilled crew - most likely a crew of well-trained officers, of course from Russian territory," he told Reuters.

However Vovk said he doubted whether the Oct. 13 report would reach the same conclusion.

"I have doubts that we will see these conclusions on Oct. 13 ... And if we see them, then I doubt that these conclusions will be either unambiguous or final," he said.

In a preliminary report last year, the Board blamed the crash on "high energy objects" striking the aircraft. Western governments have said they believe it was downed by a ground-to-air missile fired in error by Moscow-backed separatists.

Russia contests that claim, and has variously attributed the crash to an unidentified Ukrainian fighter aircraft and a Ukrainian-launched anti-aircraft missile. The Netherlands has avoided committing itself to any theory.

Two-thirds of the victims were Dutch and the Netherlands is leading the judicial and air safety investigations into the crash, which contributed to bringing relations between Russia and the West to their lowest ebb since the Cold War.

(Reporting by Serhiy Karaziy; Writing by Alessandra Prentice and Tom Heneghan)

Again please distinguish between the 2 investigations that are ongoing: one is about 'what happened to the aircraft?' (the safety board report) and the other is about "who dun it? " (the criminical justice investigation) So obviously, mr Vovk, the safety board report forthcoming on Tuesday will not adress the 'who dun it'.... and you know this.

 

[Hindustani78]

Dutch Safety Board set to say MH17 downed by Russian-made missile, but not point finger| Reuters

The Dutch Safety Board, issuing long-awaited findings on Tuesday of its investigation into the crash of a Malaysian passenger plane over eastern Ukraine, is expected to say it was downed by a Russian-made Buk missile but not say who was responsible for firing it.

MH17 was shot down over territory held by pro-Russia rebels in eastern Ukraine on July 17, 2014, killing all 298 people aboard, most of them Dutch citizens.

Experts and Western governments believe rebels shot down the aircraft, possibly mistaking it for a Ukrainian military plane. Moscow has offered alternative theories, including that it might have been shot down by a Ukrainian fighter, or by Ukrainian forces.

Safety Board director Tjibbe Joustra will present findings on Tuesday first to victims' families, then to journalists at a military base in Gilze-Rijen, where parts of the plane have been brought from the crash site and reconstructed.

It is widely expected that the investigation will say the plane was brought down by a Russian-made Buk missile, although under rules governing international flight crash investigations, the board does not have the authority to apportion blame.

Carefully worded preliminary findings by the board in September 2014 said the plane had been brought down by "high energy objects from outside the aircraft" -- presumably shrapnel.

A separate Dutch-led international criminal investigation is still going on, with prosecutor Fred Westerbeke saying he will not rest until those responsible for downing MH17 are brought before a judge.

However, prosecutors can not issue charges until a venue has been decided. In July, Russia vetoed a Dutch proposal at the United Nations to set up an international tribunal and the Dutch government is now looking at other alternatives.

Prime Minister Mark Rutte has scheduled a press conference Tuesday shortly after the findings are released.

Buk manufacturer Almaz-Antey has scheduled a separate press conference on Tuesday at which it may attempt to discredit the Safety Board findings.

Although the main focus of the Safety Board's investigation was the crash's cause, the agency will also address several other important questions surrounding the crash.

Among these will be why MH17's flight path took it over the Ukraine conflict zone. Ukraine kept its airspace open to passenger flights at an altitude deemed high enough to be safe, and some airlines were still using it, but many routed traffic around the area.

The victims were from the Netherlands, Malaysia, Australia, Indonesia, Britain, Germany, Belgium, The Philippines, Canada and New Zealand.

(Reporting by Toby Sterling; Editing by Richard Balmforth)

 

[Penguin]

On Tuesday 13 October 2015 the Dutch Safety Board will publish its reports on the investigation into the crash of flight MH17. Below, we provide an overview of the course of events.

• At 11.00 a.m. surviving relatives of the victims will first be informed about the results of the investigation
  by Tjibbe Joustra, chairman of the Dutch Safety Board, in The Hague.
  
• At exactly 1.15 p.m. the chairman of the Dutch Safety Board will present the investigation to the media
  at Gilze-Rijen air base. After this presentation, the reports will be published (around 1.45 p.m.).
  
• At 4.00 p.m. the chairman of the Dutch Safety Board will be elucidating the investigation during a closed meeting with the Dutch House of Representatives in The Hague.
  
• After the official publication of the report on Tuesday afternoon, Board members Erwin Muller and
  Marjolein van Asselt will be informing approximately 75 embassies about the investigation in The Hague.
  
• The reports focus on four themes: the causes of the crash, the issue of flying over conflict areas, the reasons why Dutch surviving relatives had to wait for two to four days for confirmation from the Dutch authorities that their loved ones had been on the aeroplane, and lastly the question to what extent the occupants of flight MH17 consciously experienced the crash.
  
• The investigation was not concerned with question of blame or liability. Answering those question is a matter for the criminal investigation.
  
• During the presentation of the investigation at Gilze-Rijen air base the reconstruction will be shown that
  the Dutch Safety Board made of part of the aircraft. Using recovered pieces of wreckage,
  part of the cockpit and business class section were reconstructed. The Dutch Safety Board
  reconstructed the part of the aeroplane that was relevant to the investigation.
  
• On Tuesday the Dutch Safety Board will also be presenting a video animation explaining the findings and conclusions of the investigation.
  
• English is the language used in international aviation investigation. The reports on flight MH17 will be published in English as well as in Dutch.
  
• It is common practice for the Dutch Safety Board to include a rationale for its investigations in its reports. For the publication of the MH17 reports the Board has opted not to do so for each report individually, but instead to provide a single document covering all of the various investigations. This document, entitled About the Investigation, will be published simultaneously with the reports.

Dutch Safety Board | Investigations & Publication | Investigation crash MH17, 17 July 2014

 

[Hindustani78]

'MH17 shot down by Russian-made BUK missile' | Zee News

The Hague: International investigators have concluded that Malaysian Airlines flight MH17 was shot down by a Russian-made BUK missile fired from rebel-held eastern Ukraine, a Dutch daily said today.

The final report was due to be officially unveiled at 1115 GMT today at a Dutch military base.

It seeks to end 15 months of speculation about why the Boeing 777 broke up in mid-air killing all 298 people on board.

Quoting three sources close to the investigation, the respected Volkskrant daily said the inquiry had found the plane was hit by a BUK surface-to-air missile on July 17, 2014 as it was en route from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur.

The report contains maps of the crash site, where the wreckage was strewn across fields close to the Ukrainian village of Grabove, in the war-torn area of Donetsk controlled by the pro-Russian separatists.

It rejects Moscow's contention that the plane was hit by a missile fired by Ukrainian troops as it flew at some 33,000 feet above the territory, Volkskrant said.

The Dutch Safety Board, which led the international team of investigators, has stressed that its mandate was not to determine who pulled the trigger, amid a separate probe by Dutch prosecutors.

But two sources told the Volkskrant that "the BUK missile is developed and made in Russia."

"It can be assumed that the rebels would not be able to operate such a device. I suspect the involvement of former Russian military officials," one told the paper.

AFP

Buk missile destroyed MH-17, says report - The Hindu

Many reports, including an investigation by the open-source group Bellingcat, also suggest the plane was downed by a missile fired from near Snizhne.
Relatives of people killed on Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 said on Tuesday they have been told an official investigation has concluded the jet was destroyed by a Buk missile, but the Russian maker of the weapon says its own probe contradicts the Dutch findings.

Robby Oehlers, whose cousin Daisy was among the 298 people killed when the Boeing 777 was shot down over eastern Ukraine on July 17, 2014, said the conclusion from the Dutch investigation was shared with family members at a meeting in The Hague. “It was a Buk,” he said.

The meeting with families of victims came ahead of the official presentation later Tuesday of the investigation’s final report.

Mr. Oehlers said the gathering was “as quiet as a mouse” as Dutch Safety Board chairman Tjibbe Joustra explained the conclusions of the 15-month investigation.

Ukraine and Western countries contend the airliner was downed by a missile fired by Russia-backed rebels or Russian forces, from rebel-controlled territory, on July 17, 2014, killing all 298 people aboard.

The experimental aircraft’s remains showed a much different submunitions damage pattern than seen on the remnants of MH17, the company said in a statement.

The experiments also refute what it said was the Dutch version, that the missile was fired from Snizhne, a village that was under rebel control. An Associated Press reporter saw a Buk missile system in that vicinity on the same day.

Almaz-Antey in June had said that a preliminary investigation suggested that the plane was downed by a model of Buk that is no longer in service with the Russian military but that was part of the Ukrainian military arsenal.

Information from the first experiment, in which a missile was fired at aluminium sheets mimicking an airliner’s fuselage, was presented to the Dutch investigators, but was not taken into account, Almaz—Antey chief Yan Novikov said at a news conference.

Mr. Novikov said evidence shows that if the plane was hit by a Buk, it was fired from the village of Zaroshenske, which Russia says was under Ukrainian government control at the time.

A U.S. official told The Associated Press that the draft report said the plane was destroyed by a Buk surface-to-air missile fired from the village of Snizhne; the official who was not authorised to comment publicly, spoke on condition of anonymity.

Many reports, including an investigation by the open-source group Bellingcat, also suggest the plane was downed by a missile fired from near Snizhne.

 

[Hindustani78]

Ukraine blames Russia for MH17 crash - read on - uatoday.tv
Russian-made BUK missile hit plane over Ukraine, Dutch experts say

Ukraine releases technical report on the reasons of MH17 crash and blames Russian Federation for downing of Malaysian Airlines civil plane in July 2014, Reuters reports.

Ukraine released a technical report on Tuesday (October 13) on the reasons for the MH17 crash, blaming the Russian Federation for the downing of the Malaysian Airlines plane in July 2014.

The head of Ukraine's investigative committee and Vice Prime Minister, Hennadiy Zubko, explained that the weapon that struck the Boeing required highly skilled operators.

"Firstly, it is the spot from which the rocket was launched. It is the territory which is under the control of pro-Russian rebels. It is Russian weaponry which hit the plane. It was impossible for untrained people to operate such weaponry. It is highly accurate and it targets the pilots. That is why we believe that Russian instructors did it. These are the facts which prove Russia's intervention in this event and we can see again that it is a cynically planned terrorist act on the territory of Ukraine," Zubko said.

Ukrainian Deputy Foreign Minister for European Integration, Olena Zerkal, said Russia needs to be brought to accountability.

"We are looking for other variants. It could be a hybrid tribunal. At the same time it will not be able to give an answer to one question - how to bring Russian citizens to justice as Russia will not be obliged to cooperate with the tribunal if it is created without the decision of the UN Security Council," Zerkal said.

Russian defence firm Almaz-Antey, which makes the BUK anti-aircraft missile systems, presented the results of its own investigation in Moscow also on Tuesday (October 13) and disputed the type of missile used.

All 298 passengers and crew aboard Malaysian Airlines flight MH17 died when the plane was shot down over eastern Ukraine, near the settlement of Hrabove.

Western governments believe the rebels shot down the plane at cruising altitude with a Russian-supplied BUK missile system, a version based on radio intercepts, photographic and video evidence, witness statements and satellite imagery.

Russia denies involvement in the conflict in eastern Ukraine.

Dutch authorities have said they are not yet ready to identify culprits but have called for a U.N. tribunal.

Russia presents own MH17 tragedy research - watch on - uatoday.tv

Russian state-arms producer Almaz-Antey refutes claims in Dutch Safety Board investigation


A Russian investigation has been presented into the fate of Malaysian Airlines flight MH17.

The research was completed by state-arms producer Almaz-Antey.

The company chief executive said it ‘entirely refuted' conclusions made by a Dutch Commission and argued sanctions on Russia in connection with the tragedy were unfair.

Almaz-Antey's results were presented in Moscow hours before a much-anticipated probe led by the Dutch Safety Board.

Yan Novikov: "Today we can say definitely - and we will show it in our presentation - that if it were the case that the Malaysian Airlines Boeing-777 was hit by a BUK missile complex, that would mean that it had been hit by a 9M38 rocket launched from the village of Zaroshchenske" ((zar-oshchen-ske)) (Ukrainian-controlled territory according to rebel groups".

International journalists have disputed the findings of the arms manufacturer. BBC correspondent Sarah Rainsford tweeted:

Another reporter for the UK's Telegraph newspaper wrote:

The conclusions by the Russian state arms producer are unlikely to do much to influence the opinions of western governments and military analysts.

Dutch newspaper De Volkskrant released a report this week saying a Russian-made surface-to-air missile hit the Boeing 777 plane as it flew over east Ukraine, quoting three sources invovled in the Dutch Safety Board probe. The Kremlin denies the accusations.

Today, October 13, Ukraine Today will broadcast the release of today's report live.

 

[Transhumanist]

Watch The Harrowing Video Report On The Missile That Shot Down MH17

Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 crashed into eastern Ukraine more than a year ago. From the very beginning, it was fairly obvious that it was shot down by some sort of ground-launched missile, and it was likely a Russian-supplied type known as an SA-11“Buk.” The Dutch Safety Board, which was investigating the incident, just released its final report, and it’s even more awful than we thought.

The nearly 20-minute video documenting both the investigation and its conclusions demonstrates conclusively that the original “Buk” theory was correct, despite Russian disinformation campaigns to the contrary. The video is incredibly thorough and compelling in its own right, and deserves to be watched, but the main findings are that:

• The plane was flying along a well-established flight route at 33,000 feet when it went down
• The cockpit and business class separated from the rest of the aircraft first, indicating a break in the front portion of the aircraft, and landed kilometers away from the rest of the plane
• The plane was shot down by an external explosion, and not from any interior force. The airplane was perforated by hundreds of high-energy objects shaped like cubes and bow ties. The shrapnel was coated in traces of explosives, aluminum, and glass, indicating an explosion outside the cockpit. Much of the shrapnel was found in the three bodies of crew members still in their seats in the wreckage
• The missile involved was a Buk, as determined by missile fragments found on the ground
• The cube- and bowtie-shaped shrapnel combination is only found in a ground-launched Buk, and not in any air-to-air missile
• The location of the explosion was determined by both the shrapnel spread pattern, as well as by examining data on the cockpit voice recorder. By comparing the fraction of a second difference in which each of the four cockpit microphones picked up the explosion in the last milliseconds of the flight, it could be determined where the explosion was located. It was approximately one meter up and to the left of the cockpit.

Other theories were examined and discounted, no matter how outlandish, including the incredibly statistically unlikely scenario of the plane getting hit by a meteor or space debris.

The report also looked into whether or not MH17 was doing anything unusual, but the fact of the matter is that Ukraine had established a zone of restricted airspace in the area up to 32,000 feet. By flying above that area, the plane was assumed to be safe from the raging conflict below. More than 150 other commercial airliners flew through the same airspace on the day MH17 was shot down, and three other commercial flights were actually in close proximity to the aircraft as the incident unfolded.

The report doesn’t go into blame for the shoot down, mind you, just the cause of the plane falling out of the sky. Under the official restrictions placed upon the investigation, it’s impossible to determine who was operating the Buk system at the time. Whether it was shot down by Ukrainian “rebels,” inspired at the grassroots level by nothing but gumption and Moxie to somehow learn how to operate and fire the three-piece Buk system comprised of a mobile radar, command post, and launcher mechanism, or whether or not the system was operated by Russian special forces, as the United States asserts, is still officially a question.

Maybe one of these days we’ll find out?

If you want to learn even more, feel free to dive into the full 279-page report. The whole thing is incredibly tragic, and a warning to flights over conflict zones in the future.