patrick.net

Russian Colonel General Identified as Key MH17 Figure

A joint investigation between The Insider and Bellingcat used open source research, investigative journalism, and forensic voice analysis to determine the identity of “Delfin,” a key figure sought by the Joint Investigation Team (JIT), the Dutch-led criminal investigation into the downing of Malaysian Airlines Flight 17 (MH17). The investigation has identified, to a high degree of certainty, Delfin as Colonel General Nikolai Fedorovich Tkachev, currently serving as the Chief Inspector of the Central Military District of the Russian Federation.

https://www.bellingcat.com/news/uk-and-europe/2017/12/08/russian-colonel-general-delfin/

The noose is tightening, bitchez.

www.youtube.com/embed/rhyd875Qtlg

Australia and the Netherlands say they are holding Russia responsible for downing a Malaysia Airlines passenger jet in 2014.

All 298 people on board MH17, which was en route from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur, died when it was shot down over rebel-held territory in Ukraine.

On Thursday, Dutch-led international investigators concluded that the missile belonged to a Russian brigade.

Russia has denied any involvement in the plane's destruction.

Moscow's defence ministry said it "rejects the version of the Dutch investigators". It has previously insisted that none of its weapons were used to bring down MH17.

The team of international investigators, however, found that "all the vehicles in a convoy carrying the missile were part of the Russian armed forces". It was fired from rebel-held territory in eastern Ukraine.

When it hit the Malaysia Airlines plane, it killed 193 Dutch nationals, 43 people from Malaysia, and 27 from Australia. Other victims came from countries including Indonesia, the UK, Belgium, Germany and the Philippines.


What is Russia being accused of?

The Netherlands and Australia say it violated international law.

The decision was announced in a statement from the Dutch government and by Australia's foreign minister Julie Bishop.

"On the basis of the [joint international team's] conclusions, the Netherlands and Australia are now convinced that Russia is responsible for the deployment of the Buk installation that was used to down MH17," Dutch foreign minister Stef Blok said.

"The government is now taking the next step by formally holding Russia accountable."

Australia and the Netherlands have asked Russia to enter talks as a first step, but held out the prospect of taking the case to an international court.

The EU, US, Nato and the UK added their own calls for Russia to accept responsibility for the incident.


The statement added, however, that holding a nation state responsible for a breach of international law would involve "a complex legal process".

"We call on Russia to accept its responsibility and cooperate fully with the process to establish the truth and achieve justice for the victims of flight MH17 and their next of kin," Mr Blok said.

On the Australian side, Ms Bishop wrote: "The only conclusion we can reasonably now draw is that Russia was directly involved in the downing of MH17."


http://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-44252150

The United States has complete confidence in the findings of the Joint Investigation Team (JIT) as presented today by the Dutch Public Prosecutor: the missile launcher used to shoot down Malaysia Airlines Flight MH17 originated from the 53rd Anti-aircraft Brigade of the Russian Federation, stationed in Kursk.
Today’s announcement confirms and adds detail to what we have said from the earliest days of this tragedy:MH17 was shot down by a Russian-made BUK surface-to-air missile fired from territory in eastern Ukraine controlled by Russia and Russia-led forces.
We recall the UN Security Council’s demand that “those responsible … be held to account and that all States cooperate fully with efforts to establish accountability.” We call upon Russia, in particular, to respect and adhere to UN Security Council Resolution 2166 (2014). It is time for Russia to cease its lies and account for its role in the shoot down.
We remain confident in the ability of the Dutch criminal justice system to prosecute those responsible in a manner that is fair and just.
We again extend our deepest sympathies to the families and friends of the victims and call for justice on behalf of the 298 innocent civilians who lost their lives on that day.
https://www.state.gov/r/pa/prs/ps/2018/05/282498.htm

#PutinIsGaddafi

www.youtube.com/embed/5MP9h0prJrU

U.S. DEPARTMENT OF STATE
Office of the Spokesperson
For Immediate Release
July 17, 2018

Statement by Heather NAUERT, SPOKESPERSON

Remembering the Shoot Down of Malaysia Airlines Flight MH17

Today marks the fourth anniversary of the downing of Malaysia Flight #17 (MH-17) over eastern Ukraine and the horrific deaths of 298 civilians. We again offer our deepest condolences to their families.

Four years after the downing of MH-17, the world still awaits Russia’s acknowledgement of its role. The United States has complete confidence in the findings of the Joint Investigation Team (JIT), including those announced on May 24, 2018, and in the JIT’s ongoing work. Based on an extensive compilation of images and other evidence, the JIT provided conclusive evidence that the BUK Transporter Erector Launcher (TELAR) from which the missile that downed MH-17 was fired, came from Russia’s 53rd Anti-aircraft Missile Brigade, a unit of the Russian army. Like a fingerprint, the combination of matching characteristics derived from the JIT’s images clearly and conclusively proves that the BUK TELAR that downed MH-17 came from the 53rd Brigade in Russia, was brought into sovereign Ukrainian territory from Russia, was fired from Russia-controlled territory in eastern Ukraine, and was then returned to Russian territory.

It is time for Russia to cease its callous disinformation campaign and fully support the next investigative phase of the JIT and the criminal prosecution of those responsible for the downing of flight MH-17. We will never forget the 298 innocent civilian lives tragically lost on that day, and we call for justice on their behalf.

Today was the last day of the mh17 trial. The verdict is due in November or December 2022.

https://twitter.com/JITMH17

A Dutch court has found three men guilty of murder for shooting down a passenger jet over eastern Ukraine in 2014, killing 298 people.

The court found that a Russian-made missile supplied from Russia and fired by an armed group under Russian control brought down flight MH17.
...

The missile attack was one of the most notorious war crimes in Ukraine before allegations of atrocities there became an almost daily reality.

Many of the victims' relatives believe if the world had reacted differently, and taken a tougher stance against Russia eight years ago, the invasion of Ukraine and the geopolitical instability that has followed could have been avoided.

The judges ruled that it was a deliberate action to bring down a plane, even though the three found guilty had intended to shoot down a military not a civilian aircraft.

- Igor Girkin*, the military leader of the so-called Donetsk People's Republic, was convicted of deploying the missile and seeking Russian help

- Sergei Dubinsky** was found to have ordered and overseen the transport of the Buk missile launcher

- Leonid Kharchenko was found to have overseen the Buk, acting on Dubinsky's instructions.

...

*) FSB colonel
**) GRU colonel

1983
September 01
Korean Airlines flight shot down by Soviet Union

Soviet jet fighters intercept a Korean Airlines passenger flight in Russian airspace and shoot the plane down, killing 269 passengers and crew-members. The incident dramatically increased tensions between the Soviet Union and the United States.

On September 1, 1983, Korean Airlines (KAL) flight 007 was on the last leg of a flight from New York City to Seoul, with a stopover in Anchorage, Alaska. As it approached its final destination, the plane began to veer far off its normal course. In just a short time, the plane flew into Russian airspace and crossed over the Kamchatka Peninsula, where some top-secret Soviet military installations were known to be located. The Soviets sent two fighters to intercept the plane. According to tapes of the conversations between the fighter pilots and Soviet ground control, the fighters quickly located the KAL flight and tried to make contact with the passenger jet. Failing to receive a response, one of the fighters fired a heat-seeking missile. KAL 007 was hit and plummeted into the Sea of Japan. All 269 people on board were killed.

This was not the first time a South Korean flight had run into trouble over Russia. In 1978, the Soviets forced a passenger jet down over Murmansk; two passengers were killed during the emergency landing. In its first public statement concerning the September 1983 incident, the Soviet government merely noted that an unidentified aircraft had been shot down flying over Russian territory. The United States government reacted with horror to the disaster. The Department of State suggested that the Soviets knew the plane was an unarmed civilian passenger aircraft. President Ronald Reagan called the incident a “massacre” and issued a statement in which he declared that the Soviets had turned “against the world and the moral precepts which guide human relations among people everywhere.” Five days after the incident, the Soviets admitted that the plane had indeed been a passenger jet, but that Russian pilots had no way of knowing this. A high ranking Soviet military official stated that the KAL flight had been involved in espionage activities. The Reagan administration responded by suspending all Soviet passenger air service to the United States, and dropped several agreements being negotiated with the Soviets.

Despite the heated public rhetoric, many Soviets and American officials and analysts privately agreed that the incident was simply a tragic misunderstanding. The KAL flight had veered into a course that was close to one being simultaneously flown by a U.S. spy plane; perhaps Soviet radar operators mistook the two. In the Soviet Union, several of the military officials responsible for air defense in the Far East were fired or demoted. It has never been determined how the KAL flight ended up nearly 200 miles off course.

https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/korean-airlines-flight-shot-down-by-soviet-union

Al_Sharpton_for_President says

It has never been determined how the KAL flight ended up nearly 200 miles off course.

They had a missing waypoint. Pilots too reliant on INS to notice.

Who shot down NH17? Ukraine.

Who is responsible? Russia!

The_Deplorable says

Who shot down NH17? Ukraine.

Who is responsible? Russia!

give it a week, theyll blame Trump somehow. logic and common sense died while back.

Human rights trial against Russia over downing of flight MH17 to go ahead

Judges rule Russia eligible for trial for alleged war crimes in Ukraine because of its effective control over separatist-held areas

Haroon Siddique

Human rights judges have said cases against Russia for the shooting down of flight MH17 and other alleged war crimes can proceed to trial, as they ruled that separatist-held areas of eastern Ukraine were under the effective control of the Russian Federation.

All 298 people onboard the Malaysian airlines flight travelling from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur were killed when it was shot down by a Russian surface-to-air missile while flying over eastern Ukraine in 2014 during the war in Donbas.

The Netherlands, whose citizens accounted for 196 of those killed, is seeking to bring a case against Russia for violations of the European convention on human rights in relation to the atrocity.

On Wednesday, the European court of human rights (ECHR) ruled that it could proceed as Russia had effective control over separatist areas in eastern Ukraine from 11 May 2014 until at least 26 January 2022 (when the admissibility hearing in the case took place). The judges cited Russia’s military presence in the region, its degree of influence over the separatists’ military strategy, the supply of weapons and military equipment to them, as well as political support.

The ECHR said the fact that Russia ceased to be a party to the European convention on human rights in September was irrelevant, as the events took place prior to that date.

The Dutch justice minister, Dilan Yeşilgöz-Zegerius, tweeted: “Very good news: the judgment of the European court of human rights is another important step in finding the truth and justice for the victims and their relatives of flight.”

The Strasbourg court reached the same conclusions in relation to applications by the government of Ukraine in relation to the conflict in Donbas, including alleged unlawful military attacks against civilians and torture of civilians and Ukrainian soldiers. However, the judges said that whether complaints about the bombing and shelling of areas outside separatist – and effective Russian – control could fall within Russian jurisdiction would need to be examined at trial.

They noted that there are around 8,500 individual applications pending in relation to events in Crimea, eastern Ukraine, the Sea of Azov and the invasion by Russia which began in February 2022.

Ben Emmerson KC, international counsel for the government of Ukraine, said the ECHR judgment “shows that President Putin cannot escape the long arm of international law”.

RWSGFY says

Human rights trial against Russia over downing of flight MH17 to go ahead

They hid the flight recorder for months, if not years. I've not heard it and the US controlled the investigation.

I think it's more likely the US allowed the shoot down just for propaganda purposes. When our government is lying, they hide evidence, and completely control access to materials. They are doing that with this. If they had good evidence, they would be falling over themselves to put the evidence out there.

It's possible the US government is telling the truth (for once), but they are acting dodgy and they have repeatedly shown their willingness to lie, even when it's obvious they are lying. They didn't make a very convincing case. IF they started an investigation and took a few weeks to announce Russia did it, I'd have more faith, but they weren't interested in getting to the truth. If doesn't matter who actually shot down MH17 - the US was going to conclude it was Russia regardless of the evidence otherwise they would have waited to announce it.

Our government used to do this, but the quality of the propagandists has really dropped low in the last 3 decades.

Nobody in the rest of the world gives a flying Fuck.

The US shot down an Iranian passenger jet. Nothing ever came of it. Iran didn't even get an apology. Do you really expect one from Russia??

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iran_Air_Flight_655

There are strong indications to believe that the decision to supply the Buk anti-aircraft missile system to militants of the "Donetsk People's Republic" was made by Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Source: Conclusion of the Joint Investigation Team (JIT)

Details: The Team has published the results of its investigation into who was responsible in the Russian Federation for the downing of flight MH17 by a Buk missile.

In recorded phone conversations, Russian officials say that the decision to provide military support rested with the president. The decision was even postponed for a week "because there is only one person who can make the decision... the person who is now at a summit in France." At the time, on 5 and 6 June 2014, President Putin was in France to celebrate D-Day [the Normandy landings], the anniversary of the massive Allied landing during World War II.

"There is specific information that the separatists' request was passed on to the president and that this request was granted. It is not known whether the request mentions the Buk system. A little later, heavier air defence systems appeared, including the Buk system that shot down MH17. Although we are talking about hard evidence, the high bar of complete and convincing evidence has not been met. In addition, the president enjoys immunity as head of state," the report says.

The JIT shared its findings with the families of 298 victims and published a report.

RWSGFY says

Source: Conclusion of the Joint Investigation Team (JIT)

It's bullshit. The US never finds any fault with itself, ever, and hasn't for over 20 years. They have 0 credibility. These are the same fucking assholes that said Saddam Hussein had a secret weapons of mass destruction program. You have to be pretty gullible to be listening to them at this point.

The NY Slimes in particular has proven it's just a mouthpiece for the CIA/NSA.

MH17 was warning shot from Putin. We should have acted, say generals

Ten years after Malaysia Airlines jet was downed over Ukraine, military figures rue missed chances to stem Russian aggression — while families of victims still wait for justice

The teenage girls who ran for their lives from a café as Russian missiles landed nearby on Tuesday would have been small children when the sounds of war first came to their home.
In the Donbas region of eastern Ukraine, the Kremlin’s troops first arrived a decade ago in unmarked uniforms and under the thin disguise of a local insurrection.
Spurred on by the reverberating impacts, Tuesday’s salvo was over for the girls before they could even reach a bomb shelter, but this time they escaped unscathed — they even giggled as they ran.

They were too young to remember July 17, 2014, when a Boeing 777 came crashing out of the air in flames, brought down by one of the first Russian missiles to fly in anger over the Donbas.
On this day ten years ago, 298 passengers and crew aboard Malaysia Airlines flight MH17 were killed as they travelled 30,000ft above sea level through Ukrainian airspace from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur. Eighty of them were children, including three British boys aged eight to 14 — Christopher, Julian and Ian Allen. The youngest victim, Kaela Goes, was 21 months old, killed while flying home with her parents after visiting relatives in the Netherlands.
They were expecting the adventure of a holiday, to see friends or to be reunited with loved ones. Instead, their bodies dropped out of the air on to sunflower fields torn up by tank tracks. One body fell through a villager’s roof. Intimate belongings from their luggage were scattered over 20 square miles, only to be looted by soldiers under Russian command.

The mass murder of European citizens should have hardened the West’s response to persistent Russian aggression, pre-empting President Putin’s 2022 invasion with sweeping sanctions and increasing military aid to Ukraine, according to Nato and Ukrainian officers who served at the time.
The population of Ukraine’s eastern region are still paying the price for the world’s failure to respond to the downing of MH17, or to even earlier provocations by the Kremlin.
“The first mistake the West made was in not responding to the 2008 Russian invasion of Georgia. Of course, in 2014, there was a second new stage — Crimea and Donbas,” Lieutenant Colonel Ivan Dubey said this week. A Ukrainian career commander who has been fighting the Russians in the Donbas since 2014, he remembers the horror of discovering that a civilian passenger jet had been shot down, and the scenes of mixed-up human remains in the chaos of the crash site, some of them from small children.

“I think for a moment after MH17 it seemed like even the Russians were scared, they realised that they had crossed beyond all moral boundaries,” Dubey said.
The Kremlin swiftly started a disinformation campaign, offering a series of improbable explanations to claim that Ukraine had brought down MH17, even though a Russian commander, Igor Girkin, had bragged that they had downed a plane he believed to have been a Ukrainian military troop transport.

“Then they calmly lied through it and the world let them move on,” Dubey said. “If the West had wanted to support democratic nations, it should have provided us more military aid. Then we would have stopped the Russians when they started this invasion.”

A smattering of sanctions were introduced against Russia immediately after of the crash, but the world’s politicians, in thrall to Russian oil and gas money, largely abdicated their responsibility in favour of the slow and ineffective wheels of the international justice system.
Commemorations will be held for the victims today. But ten years after the catastrophe, none of the victims’ families has received justice. A joint investigation into the incident by Ukraine, the Netherlands, Australia, Belgium and Malaysia established that a Russian Buk anti-aircraft system shot the plane down from occupied territory and was transported into Ukraine by members of Russia’s 53rd air defence brigade, posted near the border.

Girkin, another Russian commander, and one local were convicted and sentenced in absentia to life in prison for their role in shooting down the plane. As they are in Russia, however, they are unlikely ever to serve their sentences.
The joint investigation closed last year. The Russian soldiers suspected to have launched the Buk anti-aircraft missile and their more senior commanders, including Putin, will never be held to account. The joint investigation team is bound not to disclose all the evidence it has received.
“We have a lot of information in our materials that indicates important data of other persons before this tragedy, but it is not enough to bring them to justice,” Oleksandr Bannyk, Ukraine’s prosecutor at the Hague, said. “We cannot disclose specific names and specific information, taking into account the fact that any persons involved in this event are considered innocent until proven guilty in court.”

In a civil claim filed against Russia by several of the victims’ families, the American attorney Jerry Skinner sought $10 million (£7.7 million) compensation for each victim, the same amount awarded to families of the 1988 Lockerbie bombing by Libya. To date, the families who filed the claims have received only $100,000, from the airline.
Skinner argues that frozen Russian assets should be used to compensate the victims’ families. He accuses the Netherlands of putting its own claim for damages — mainly costs incurred during the recovery of bodies and its investigation — ahead of those of the families. He said the European court has refused to file his pleadings.
Today Dubey’s troops, from the 32nd Mechanised Brigade, are clinging on to defensive lines around the besieged city of Toretsk, the new focus of the Russian offensive in Ukraine. A decade after it was liberated from Putin’s proxy forces in the Donbas, it looks likely to be occupied again.
General Ben Hodges, commander of the US army in Europe in 2014, also believes that the West might have reacted more forcefully to the downing of MH17 by imposing crippling sanctions and increasingly military aid to Ukraine as it battled Putin’s original hybrid invasion of the Donbas.

“This war in Ukraine is what failed deterrence looks like,” said Hodges, who has long argued that President Biden’s administration should lift restrictions on the use of long-range weapons against military targets inside Russia.
The mistakes of President Obama’s administration a decade ago were being repeated by Biden, his former vice-president, Hodges said. “Our continued failure to respond to Russian aggression is why we are where we are.”

— The Times and The Sunday Times

https://www.thetimes.com/world/russia-ukraine-war/article/mh17-was-warning-shot-from-putin-we-should-have-acted-say-generals-w2b9q26pw

What is wrong with those Germans, Italians, and Belgians? Open your freakin wallets and enlarge your militaries. It's in your backyard.

We're happy to help with logistics, as long as you help us defray for the cost. We can manufacture and sell you all the 5.56mm and 155mm shells you need, and we'll even give you a low rate!

After all, non-US NATO is richer and more populous than the US alone.

C'mon Europeans, let's go. We're happy to help a bit, but to misquote LBJ

"American boys should not be doing the job that European boys ought to be doin' for themselves"

Eric Holder says

"MH17 was warning shot from Putin. We should have acted, say generals"

No, because the evidence showed that the MH17 was shot down by Ukraine.