An international team of investigators released their findings on Wednesday, stating that they found “strong indications” that Russian President Vladimir Putin approved the supply of heavy anti-aircraft weapons to Ukrainian separatists, who were responsible for the downing of Malaysia Airlines flight MH17 in 2014 using a Russian missile. Read the post for further clarification on the matter.
MH17 shoot down
On July 17, 2014, while flying over eastern Ukraine, Malaysia Airlines Flight 17—a scheduled passenger flight from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur—was shot down by forces under the control of Russia. 15 crew members and all 283 passengers perished. The Boeing 777-200ER airplane’s communication was lost.
When it was around 50 kilometres (31 miles) from the Ukrainian-Russian border, and wreckage from the aircraft fell close to Hrabove in the Ukrainian region of Donetsk, 40 kilometres (25 miles) from the border. During the Donbass War, a shoot-down took place over a region that Russian separatist troops were in control of.
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Investigation to the crash
The Dutch oversaw two independent investigations: one into the technical reason of the crash and another criminal investigation. On October 13, 2015, the technical report was made public, and in September 2016, the criminal investigation published some of its conclusions.
The Convention on International Civil Aviation states that the country where an aviation incident occurred is in charge of conducting the investigation, but that government may assign that responsibility to another state; Ukraine has given the Netherlands responsibility for both investigations.
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The cause of MH17 crash
Both American and Ukrainian authorities declared that a surface-to-air missile strike with a 9M38 series was most likely to be the cause shortly after the crash. If so, the missile was launched from a portable Buk missile system, an invention of the Soviet Union (NATO reporting name: SA-11 “Gadfly”).
The only surface-to-air missile system in the area at the time that was known to be deployed and capable of reaching the cruising altitude of commercial aviation traffic was Buk. Such systems have a limited ability to differentiate between military and civilian aircraft until they receive data from larger networks.
Russia is behind the shooting
In September of 2016, an international team of criminal investigators stated that evidence suggested the Buk missile had been transported in from Russian territory and that it had been fired from an area that was held by Russian-backed separatists.
As a result of the joint investigative team (JIT) led by the Netherlands’ conclusion that the missile system belonged to a Russian brigade, Australia and the Netherlands both declared that Russia was to blame for shooting down the plane.
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Russia decline the report
Russia has asserted that it had nothing to do with the disaster that befell Malaysia Airlines Flight MH17 on July 17, 2014, which was en route from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur and went down.
In spite of this, Dutch investigators have reached the conclusion that the Boeing 777 was brought down by a surface-to-air missile that was delivered to pro-Russian rebels in eastern Ukraine. A similar conclusion is largely recognised by intelligence agencies in the Western world.
Suing Russia for the same
Experts from the Netherlands, Australia, Malaysia, Belgium, and Ukraine make up the Joint Investigation Team. The majority of casualties were Dutch. Investigations into the members of the missile system’s crew and the individuals who gave the go-ahead for its use in Ukraine have not stopped.
The Dutch and Ukrainian governments are suing Russia at the European Court of Human Rights over its suspected role in the downing of MH17 in addition to the criminal trial that was held in the Netherlands.
To Conclude
On July 17, 2014, MH17 crashed. Up to this point, the tragedy has been the deadliest aeroplane shoot-down incident. According to reports, Russia is responsible for the same. Russia, though, has refuted the report. When we have more information, we will let you know.
