Disinfo: It was a Ukrainian regiment that shot down MH17

Summary

The missile that shot down MH17 came from an the Ukrainian missile regiment, said Nikolai Parshin, chief of the Russian Defense Ministry Main Rocket and Artillery Directorate. According to Parshin, this Ukrainian military unit is now called the 223rd anti-aircraft defense regiment of the Ukrainian armed forces, was renamed by a decree from the Ukraine presidential office. “Currently, this unit is located in the city of Stryi in the Lviv region, [and] they still have the Buk systems. It is noteworthy that units of the 223 regiment have, since 2014, repeatedly been involved in the so-called anti-terror operation in the Donetsk and Lugansk regions.”, he added.

Disproof

Bellingcat has identified that on the photos in VKontakte of an Ukrainian volunteer, it's evident that the 223rd Stryi Missile Regiment was in 2014 in the Poltava region. "The Poltava region is central Ukraine. Missile's range would be" too short, says Kirill Mihailov, researcher at Conflict Intelligence Team. "The only operational Buk missile launcher observed within firing range of MH17 on July 17, 2014, was the Russian Buk 332, from the Kursk-based 53rd Anti-Aircraft Missile Brigade," a surface-to-air combat unit of the Russian ground forces that was stationed in eastern Ukraine at the time, Bellingcat reported. Further debunk by The Insider. Background: Many competing and contradictory stories promulgated by Russian state-controlled media on MH17. https://euvsdisinfo.eu/disinformation-cases/?text=mh17&disinfo_issue=&date= The Dutch-led Joint Investigation Team has concluded that flight MH17 was shot down on 17 July 2014 by a missile of the 9M38 series, launched by a BUK-TELAR, from farmland in the vicinity of Pervomaiskiy (or: Pervomaiskyi). At that time, the area was controlled by pro-Russian fighters. The BUK-TELAR was brought in from the territory of the Russian Federation and subsequently, after having shot down flight MH-17, was taken back to the Russian Federation. https://www.om.nl/onderwerpen/mh17-crash/@96068/jit-flight-mh17-shot/

24 May 2018, JIT stated that the BUK-TELAR that was used to down MH17 originates from the 53rd Anti Aircraft Missile brigade, a unit of the Russian army from Kursk in the Russian Federation. The JIT reached this conclusion after extensive comparative research. Several images of the BUK-TELAR with which MH17 was downed are available. Analysis of those produces a number of characteristics. The combination of those is so special that that can be considered as a fingerprint. This fingerprint has been compared with numerous images of BUK-TELARS, both Ukrainian and Russian ones. The only BUK-TELAR on which this combination of characteristics also was found, is a BUK-TELAR that was recorded several times when it joined a convoy of the 53rd brigade on 23 – 25 June 2014. https://www.om.nl/onderwerpen/mh17-crash/@103196/update-criminal-0/ Furthermore, a joint international open source investigation led by Bellingcat has identified conclusively that the person of interest known as ‘Andrey Ivanovich’ or ‘Orion’ whose identity is sought by the Joint Investigating Team in connection with the criminal investigation into the downing of MH17, is in fact Russian citizen Oleg Vladimirovich Ivannikov. Ivannikov was an officer of the Main Directorate of the General Staff of the Russian Ministry of Defence (GRU), and served in that function until at least as late as September 2017. During his undercover deployment to LNR, he coordinated and supervised the military activities of Russian militants, pro-Russian separatists and “private army” contingents from the Wagner group. Ivannikov also supervised the procurement and transport of weapons across the Russia Ukraine border. He held these functions at the time of the downing of MH17. https://www.bellingcat.com/news/uk-and-europe/2018/05/25/mh17-russian-gru-commander-orion-identified-oleg-ivannikov/ The European Union an NATO have called on the Russian Federation to accept its responsibility and to fully cooperate with all efforts to establish accountability http://www.consilium.europa.eu/en/press/press-releases/2018/05/25/declaration-by-the-high-representative-on-behalf-of-the-eu-on-the-findings-of-the-joint-investigation-team-on-the-downing-of-flight-mh17/ https://www.nato.int/cps/en/natohq/news_154585.htm On the basis of the JIT’s conclusions, the Netherlands and Australia are convinced that Russia is responsible for the deployment of the Buk installation that was used to down MH17. The two governments are formally holding Russia accountable. https://www.government.nl/latest/news/2018/05/25/mh17-the-netherlands-and-australia-hold-russia-responsible The US have supported the decisions by the Netherlands and Australia https://twitter.com/statedeptspox/status/1000039780384755712

publication/media

  • Reported in: Issue 118
  • DATE OF PUBLICATION: 17/09/2018
  • Outlet language(s) Russian
  • Countries and/or Regions discussed in the disinformation: Ukraine, Russia
  • Keywords: Eastern Ukraine, War in Ukraine, MH17
see more

Disinfo: White Helmets are a "rebranding of Al Qaeda"

The next chemical attack provocation in Syria is already filmed. [—] The White Helmets are a “rebranding of Al Qaeda”. There is no doubt that the White Helmets are working for Al Qaeda.

Disproof

Recurring pro-Kremlin disinformation on the White Helmets. euvsdisinfo.eu/disinformation-cases/?text=douma&disinfo_issue=&date=, https://euvsdisinfo.eu/disinformation-cases/?text=white+helmets&disinfo_issue=&date= The White Helmets are a volunteer search and rescue group made up of Syrian civilians, which has been attacked by the pro-Kremlin and pro-Assad media on numerous occasions. medium.com/dfrlab/syriahoax-part-two-kremlin-targets-white-helmets-c6ab692d4a21 It was the White Helmets’ footage that documented the chemical attack in Khan Sheikhoun in April, which killed at least 83 people, a third of them children. UN war crimes investigators later concluded the attack was carried out by the Syrian regime. www.theguardian.com/world/2017/dec/18/syria-white-helmets-conspiracy-theories

Disinfo: Idlib: Another provocation, which is likely to be carried out by the so-called White Helmets, is being prepared

Another provocation, which is likely to be carried out by the so-called White Helmets, is being prepared. — The White Helmets and Nusra Front terrorists have approved videos of two scenes which will be transferred to the United Nations and the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons; the rest will be distributed in social networks, the Russian Center for Syrian Reconciliation noted. /// White Helmets Stage Attacks to Give Pretext to US to Attack Syria. /// The White Helmets, together with terrorists, have chosen 22 families with children, as well as orphans kidnapped from refugee camps to participate in their staged filming.

Disproof

No evidence given. Recurring pro-Kremlin disinformation on White Helmets and chemical attacks in Syria. euvsdisinfo.eu/disinformation-cases/?text=&disinfo_issue=&disinfo_keywords%5B%5D=77488&date= euvsdisinfo.eu/disinformation-cases/?text=syria&disinfo_issue=&disinfo_keywords%5B%5D=77353&date= Earlier, pro-Kremlin disinformation has claimed that both the 2017 attack in Khan Sheikhoun and 2018 in Douma were faked. UN-OPCW Joint Investigative Mechanism found Syria’s Government responsible for last year’s attack in Khan Shaykhun. On April 10 2018 Russia vetoed a U.S.-drafted U.N. Security Council resolution that would have created a new inquiry to ascertain responsibility for chemical weapons attacks in Syria. Read more: www.lemonde.fr/les-decodeurs/article/2018/08/31/attaques-chimiques-en-syrie-les-intox-de-la-russie-pour-brouiller-les-pistes_5348708_4355770.html#xtor=AL-32280270 Background: On 7 April 2018, a high number of civilians were killed in the besieged Syrian city of Douma, with evidence pointing towards another chemical attack by the regime, according to the EU. According to the World Health Organisation, during the shelling of Douma on Saturday, an estimated 500 patients presented to health facilities exhibiting signs and symptoms consistent with exposure to toxic chemicals. http://www.who.int/mediacentre/news/statements/2018/chemical-attacks-syria/en/ See also Bellingcat's open source survey on the suspected chemical attack: https://www.bellingcat.com/news/mena/2018/04/11/open-source-survey-alleged-chemical-attacks-douma-7th-april-2018/ In September 2017, the UN Commission of Inquiry on the Syrian Arab Republic summarized 33 separate incidents where it had found use of chemical weapons. Since then there have been several additional suspected chemical attacks. Between March 2013 and March 2017, the Commission documented 25 incidents of chemical weapons use in the Syrian Arab Republic, of which 20 were proven to have been perpetrated by government forces and used primarily against civilians. http://www.ohchr.org/EN/HRBodies/HRC/IICISyria/Pages/IndependentInternationalCommission.aspx

Disinfo: The EU is conducting a hybrid war against Moscow

Since the European Union is actively participating in the hybrid war against us [against Russia], it is important for us that it has no consolidated position – so that not all of them together could impose sanctions on us. […] Therefore, we are just interested in getting the European Union weakened.

Disproof

The EU is not conducting a "hybrid war" against Russia. The EU's most recent policy vis-a-vis Russia has been formulated in 2016 in the Five Guiding Principles that include selective engagement with Russia on issues like migration, counter-terrorism, or climate change; or support for Russia's civil society. See remarks by HRVP Federica Mogherini: https://eeas.europa.eu/headquarters/headquarters-homepage/5490/remarks-high-representativevice-president-federica-mogherini-press-conference-following-foreign_en