May 25, 2018 - Moscow led to distrust JIT as Dutch-led inquiry locked Russia out of MH17 crash probe
Moscow led to distrust JIT as Dutch-headed inquiry locked Russia out of MH17 crash probe
Russia rejects the allegations that it was involved in the flight MH17 crash in Ukraine and mistrusts the conclusions drawn by the Dutch-led Joint Investigation Team since Moscow had not been invited to participate in the probe, Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters on Friday.
"I want to repeat the president’s words to you - the investigation was carried out in the Netherlands, this investigation team did not include the Russian side, though the Ukrainian side was represented," Peskov pointed out.
"Certainly, without having the possibility to be a full-fledged party, Russia does not know to what degree the conclusions of this endeavor can be trusted," he noted.
Moscow had shown its willingness to provide all the necessary assistance to identify those behind this tragedy, the spokesman stressed.
The Kremlin spokesman recalled that Ukraine had not taken the necessary steps to close its airspace despite the fighting, which was conducted on its territory. "These are two basic elements, which President Putin mentioned yesterday."
In comment on whether this mistrust means that Russia fully denies all the accusations against it, he said: "Certainly."
Peskov refused to comment on technical details mentioned in the Dutch investigators’ report. The document says in October 2014 the JIT already asked the Russian authorities to provide it with all information that may be important for establishing the truth. However, Moscow did not report to the JIT that the 53rd Brigade had been deployed in eastern Ukraine, it said.
"I can only say that there is mutual mistrust, and I cannot tell you more as I don’t have technical information," he said.
JIT's conclusions
On the basis of the JIT’s conclusions, The Netherlands and Australia have officially accused Russia of its alleged involvement in the 2014 flight MH17 crash in Ukraine and plan to hold Moscow responsible.
On Thursday, the Joint Investigation Team, consisting of representatives of Australia, Belgium, Malaysia, the Netherlands and Ukraine, released its update in criminal investigation of flight MH17 crash. According to the JIT, "the BUK-TELAR that was used to down MH17, originates from the 53rd Anti Aircraft Missile brigade (hereinafter 53rd brigade), a unit of the Russian army from Kursk in the Russian Federation."
Russia’s Defense Ministry rejected all the accusations saying that none of the Russian Army’s air defense missile systems had ever crossed the border between Russia and Ukraine.
The ministry also said that Russia provided the Dutch investigators with overwhelming evidence clearly pointing to the complicity of Ukrainian crews of Buk missile systems in destroying the Boeing airliner.
May 25, 2018 - Putin: MH17 ‘Investigation’ Invalid Without International Cooperation
Putin: MH17 'Investigation' Invalid Without International Cooperation - Fort Russ
According to Russian President Vladimir Putin, Russia will only recognize the results of the MH17 investigation if Russia is allowed to participate in the investigation.
At a press conference following a meeting with French President Emmanuel Macron, Putin recalled that although
Moscow proposed to “work together to investigate the tragedy,” they have not been granted access to research carried out by the Joint Research Center of the team (JIT).
“For us to recognize what it (the JIT) says, we have to participate fully in the investigation,” Putin stressed.
On Thursday the JIT presented preliminary results of its investigation into the downing of the Malaysian Airlines plane in Donbass in 2014. The JIT claimed that preliminary results suggest that MH17 was downed by Russian Armed Forces.
The head of the Dutch Civil Police Investigations Department, Wilbert Paulissen, said the research group examining the circumstances surrounding the fall of Boeing in Donbass established that the Buk anti-aircraft system allegedly responsible belonged to the 53rd Russian Anti-aircraft Defense Brigade.
The Russian Ministry of Defense has said that “a Russian Armed Forces anti-aircraft system never crossed the Russian-Donbass border” and stated that the JIT investigation needs testimony from residents of Ukrainian and Donbass cities near the disaster site who say “that the missile was launched from the territory controlled by the Ukrainian military.”
“Of course, no proof of any kind was presented, just a very flashy video, filmed on the basis of ‘pre-made’ data by Bellingcat who had previously been accused of manipulating data in support of the Russian implication version,” a Russian Foreign Ministry statement said.
Concern has also been expressed over the manipulation of social media images in the investigation.
On July 17, 2014, a Malaysia Airlines Boeing 777, which took the MH17 flight from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur, was struck by a missile when it was flying near Donetsk. Onboard the aircraft were 298 people, mostly Dutch; there were no survivors.
Fort Russ News
has repeatedly drawn attention to the flawed nature of the JIT investigation and the inconsistencies of the MH17 narrative implicating Russia.
May 25, 2018 - Lavrov likens MH17 crash investigation to Skripal saga
Lavrov likens MH17 crash investigation to Skripal saga
The investigation into the MH17 crash in Donbass is reminiscent of the Skripal case as there is no evidence, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said on the sidelines of the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF) on Friday.
"It is very much reminiscent of the Skripal case, when they said that Russians were ‘highly likely’ behind it but at the same time added that an investigation was still underway and would take some time," Lavrov said. "It feels like a deja-vu, but if our partners have once again decided to speculate on the deaths of hundreds of people to achieve their political goals, I will leave it to their conscience," he added.
Lavrov said Dutch Foreign Minister Stef Blok failed to give evidence proving Russia’s involvement in the MH17 crash in Donbass.
"The Netherlands [foreign] minister called me today, he told me what is already known," Lavrov said. "He said there was no doubt that the Buk missile had been brought from Russia," he added.
"I asked him to provide facts to prove these allegations but he failed to give any," the Russian top diplomat pointed out.
May 25, 2018 - Russian military brass comments on MH17 crash investigation
Russian military brass comments on MH17 crash investigation
The missile fragment used as an argument to blame Russia for the MH17 flight disaster over Ukraine in 2014 is clear evidence that the projectile could not have belonged to the Russian armed forces, because all missiles from that year of production had been written off back in 2011, the Russian Defense Ministry told the media on Friday.
"One of the arguments the investigators used to back up their charges that the Russian military might have been involved in the tragedy was a fragment of the Buk missile’s engine demonstrated at a news conference. The serial number unambiguously indicates that the engine was manufactured in the Soviet Union back in 1986," the Defense Ministry said in a statement received by TASS.
"The engine fragment that the Joint Investigation Team demonstrated last Thursday indicates that the cutoff date for keeping those missiles in operation was 2011… After that, all missiles from that year of manufacture were withdrawn from service, written off and scrapped. However, all this unequivocally applies only to Russian air defense units, which received and still receive the necessary weapons in working condition from the sole manufacturer located in Russia," the Defense Ministry emphasized.
The only reason why the Joint Investigation Team remains silent about the origin of the engine from the Buk missile that downed Malaysia’s flight MH17 over Ukraine in 2014 is
the projectile was of Ukrainian origin, the Russian Defense Ministry reports.
"The sole reason why the JIT stays quiet about the origin of the missile engine manufactured in 1986 is the missile more than likely belonged to the Ukrainian armed forces," the Russian Defense Ministry pointed out.