Disinfo: Leaked documents cast doubt on evidence in MH17 trial

Summary

The JIT’s evidence in the MH17 trial is mainly based on conversations intercepted by the Ukrainian Security Service, anonymous witness testimony, and Internet images found by the research collective Bellingcat. However, even this evidence is at odds with two documents leaked from the Dutch military intelligence body (MIVD) and published by Bonanza Media. These documents show that there were twelve BUK missile installations — nine Ukrainian and three Russian — in the wider area of the crash site. The closest installation in use was Ukrainian. This was 98 km away from the spot where MH17 was hit. The nearest operational Russian installation was located 106 km away, on the Russian side of the Russian-Ukrainian border. The MIVD concludes that none of these installations could have hit MH17, based on the locations where they were seen according to the information of MIVD. The BUK-M1 type has a range of up to 42 km.

Disproof

Recurring pro-Kremlin disinformation narrative about the MH17 investigation. The documents published by Bonanza do not prove Russian non-involvement in the crash. See detailed refutations of this claim here and here. As such, the results of the investigation of the Joint Investigation Team remain unchanged: flight MH17 was shot down by a missile from the 9M38 series, which was launched by the BUK TELAR system. The system was transported from the Russian Federation to an agricultural field near the city of Pervomaiskiy in eastern Ukraine, from where the rocket was launched. After firing, the system with one missing missile returned to the Russian Federation. On May 24 2018, JIT announced in its conclusion that the Buk belongs to the 53rd Anti-Aircraft Missile Brigade, a unit of the Russian armed forces in Kursk, Russian Federation. The public hearing started on 9 March 2020 in the Netherlands.

publication/media

  • Reported in: Issue 196
  • DATE OF PUBLICATION: 11/05/2020
  • Outlet language(s) English
  • Countries and/or Regions discussed in the disinformation: The Netherlands, Ukraine, Russia
  • Keywords: MH17
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Disproof

Recurring pro-Kremlin disinformation narrative denying Moscow's interference in the 2016 US presidential election. Like multiple earlier stories made by pro-Kremlin outlets regarding the 2016 US election, the present report muddles the crucial distinction between: a) interference, b) collusion, and c) conspiracy. Russia's interference in the 2016 US presidential election is a well-documented fact. By the time the Mueller report was published, Russian meddling in the 2016 poll had been established by the US intelligence community. The Mueller report itself concluded that Moscow had carried out this effort "in sweeping and systematic fashion" (p. 1). On the other hand, collusionis "not a specific offense or theory of liability found in the United States Code, nor is it a term of art in [US] federal criminal law," (p. 2) and therefore gathering evidence of it fell outside the scope of the Special Counsel investigation. The aim of the probe was not merely to ascertain contacts between the Trump Campaign and Russia-linked individuals during the election period, but to establish whether these interactions were deliberate enough on the part of Trump Campaign officials to sustain charges of conspiracy(ibid). Clapper's testimony, therefore, is in line with the findings of the Special Counsel investigation and does nothing to suggest that Russia did not interfere in the election.

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Disproof

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Disproof

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