By Eric Vandenbroeck
and co-workers
Putin Decided To Give The Missile That
Downed MH17
According to CNN and
others, there are “strong indications” that
Russian President Vladimir Putin personally approved the decision to
provide separatists in Ukraine with the missile that shot down the Malaysia
Airlines flight MH17 in 2014, Dutch investigators said Wednesday.
An international team
of investigators said Wednesday it found that Vladimir Putin approved the
supply of heavy anti-aircraft weapons to Ukrainian separatists who shot down
Malaysia Airlines flight MH17 in 2014 with a Russian missile.
“Although we speak of
strong indications, the high bar of complete and conclusive evidence is not
reached,” Dutch prosecutor Digna van Boetzelaer said,
adding that without Russian cooperation, “the investigation has now reached its
limit. All leads have been exhausted.”
She also said that,
as head of state, Putin would have immunity from prosecution in the
Netherlands. The team recorded an intercepted phone call in which they said
Putin could be heard discussing the conflict in eastern Ukraine.
“Are we disappointed?
No, because we think we came further than we had ever thought in 2014. Would we
have liked to come further? Of course, yes,” said Andy Kraag
of the Dutch police.
The team informed
relatives of those killed in the downing of MH17 of their findings before
making them public.
“There was a
disappointment because ... they wanted to know why MH17 was shot down,” Kraag said. “We’re clear on what has happened, but the
answer to why MH17 was shot down remains in Russia.”
Van Boetzelaer said that while the investigation is being
suspended, phone lines will remain open for possible witnesses who may still
want to provide evidence. If that happens, the inquiry could be reactivated.
Russian officials say
that a decision to provide rebels with military support over the summer of 2014
was in Putin’s hands.
A decision to supply
arms was postponed for a week “because only one person makes a decision (…),
the person currently at a summit in France,” the investigative team said,
citing a phone conversation that was referring to Putin.
Prosecutors said that
at the time, Putin was at a commemoration of D-Day in France. The announcement
by the investigative team comes nearly three months after a Dutch court
convicted two Russians and a Ukrainian rebel for their roles in shooting down
the plane. The court acquitted one Russian.
None of the suspects
appeared for the trial, and it was unclear if the three who were found guilty
of multiple murders would ever serve their sentences.
The convictions and
the court’s finding that the surface-to-air Buk missile came from a Russian military
base clearly indicated that Moscow had a role in the tragedy. Russia has always
denied involvement. In November, the Russian Foreign Ministry accused the court
of bowing to pressure from Dutch politicians, prosecutors, and the news media.
But the November
convictions held that Moscow was in overall control in 2014 over the
self-proclaimed Donetsk People’s Republic, the separatist area of eastern
Ukraine where the missile was launched. The Buk missile system came from the
Russian military’s 53rd Anti-Aircraft Missile Brigade, based in Kursk.
The Joint
Investigation Team comprises experts from the Netherlands, Australia, Malaysia,
Belgium, and Ukraine. Most of the victims were Dutch. It had continued to
investigate the crew of the missile system that brought down the plane and
those who ordered its deployment in Ukraine.
As well as the
criminal trial in the Netherlands, the Dutch and Ukrainian governments are
suing Russia at the European Court of Human Rights over its alleged role
in the downing of MH17.
The findings revealed
Wednesday will likely strengthen the case at the human rights court and could
also be used by prosecutors at the International Criminal Court investigating
possible war crimes in Ukraine dating to the start of the separatist conflict.
Australian Prime
Minister Anthony Albanese vowed to pursue justice for 38 Australian citizens
and residents who died aboard MH17, describing Putin as “reprehensible.”
“The shooting down of
MH17 was an act of terrorism that had an impact here in Australia but on many
countries as well. And we will continue to pursue these issues with every
avenue at our disposal,” Albanese said in the Australian capital Canberra.
“This is a guy who
runs an authoritarian regime that doesn’t care about human rights, that doesn’t
care about the devastation of communities — whether it be in Ukraine, whether
it be the oppression of his citizens, or whether it acts outside of Russia, of
which we’ve seen a number,” Albanese added.
For updates click hompage here