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Inquiry says MH17 shot down by missile brought into Ukraine from Russia
By Jan Hennop, with Maude Brulard in The Hague
Nieuwegein, Netherlands (AFP) Sept 28, 2016


BUK: Russia's feared anti-aircraft missile system
Moscow (AFP) Sept 28, 2016 - The BUK missile system blamed for shooting down flight MH17 over east Ukraine, killing all 298 people on board, is an anti-aircraft weapon whose origins date back to the Soviet era.

The system is designed to be a mobile surface-to-air system able to engage multiple targets at a variety of ranges.

BUK -- which means "Beech" in Russian -- first fully entered service with the Red Army in 1980, and has been exported to many countries, including North Korea and Syria. NATO's official designation for it is the SA-11 Gadfly.

The system fires a single-stage 700-kilogramme (1,500-pound) missile whose warhead explodes in close proximity to the target, shredding it with high-velocity shrapnel.

Up to six BUK missiles can be fired simultaneously from a launch vehicle -- usually either a military truck or a tank -- on targets flying on different bearings, according to the London-based Jane's defence and intelligence group.

The missiles lock onto targets using a separate radar system that is usually operated from an accompanying mobile unit.

It works by exploding close to a target and sending a hailstorm of shrapnel across a wider area.

The system can operate in any weather and reportedly hit some targets at an altitude of 25 kilometres (15 miles) or more.

Findings from the Dutch-led criminal inquiry released Wednesday said the Malaysia Airlines Boeing-777 "was shot down by a BUK missile from the 9M38-series."

The aircraft was flying at a cruising altitude of 33,000 feet (about 10 kilometres).

The international probe said that "the system was transported from Russian territory into eastern Ukraine" and fired from a field in rebel-held territory.

The findings appear to back up long-standing accusations from Ukraine and the West that the pro-Russian rebels downed MH17 with a missile likely provided by Moscow.

Russia and the separatists furiously deny this and have instead pointed the finger of blame at Kiev's forces.

Russian state-controlled manufacturer of the BUK system Almaz-Antey has previously claimed that if the plane was downed by a missile then it had to be the 9M38 model.

This older variant of the missile was produced until 1986 and went out of service in Russia in 2011, but is still likely in Ukraine's stockpiles.

The company had earlier claimed that the missile could only have been the more modern 9M38M1 version that was discontinued in 1999.

The missile that downed flight MH17 over eastern Ukraine was transported from Russia, a criminal inquiry revealed Wednesday, as it announced that about 100 people were being investigated for playing "an active role" in the disaster.

Saying they had "irrefutable evidence" that the BUK missile system was used to blow the Malaysia Airlines plane out of the sky, investigators also for the first time pinpointed that the device was fired from a field in a part of eastern Ukraine then controlled by pro-Russia separatists.

The findings of the Dutch-led probe stopped short of directly accusing Moscow of involvement in the tragedy in July 2014, and both the rebels and Russia issued fresh statements denying any responsibility.

But the new details appeared to back up long-standing accusations from Ukraine and the West that pro-Russian rebels were to blame using a missile which may have been provided by Moscow.

The Boeing 777 was ripped apart mid-air during a flight from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur over Ukraine, where a war pitting separatists allegedly armed by Russia against the Kiev government erupted in April 2014.

All 298 people on board the plane including 196 Dutch citizens were killed.

But despite two official international investigations, the burning question of who gave the orders and who pulled the trigger remain unresolved.

Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko hailed the inquiry's initial findings saying: "We have solid proof of who is to blame for this dreadful crime and who bears full responsibility for the terrorist attack."

- Phone taps -

A "BUK missile from the 9M38-series" was used that "came from the territory of the Russian Federation," said Wilbert Paulissen, the head of the Dutch police investigation.

When it reached Ukraine it was transferred onto a white Volvo truck and escorted by armed men in uniform. Afterwards the missile launcher system "was taken back to Russia," Paulissen said.

Over the past two years, up to 200 investigators have studied half a million photos, videos, some 200 witness statements and 150,000 tapped telephone conversations.

They have also assessed five billion internet pages to painstakingly retrace the route taken by the convoy which brought the missile system into eastern Ukraine.

In one chilling wiretapped phone conversation from July 16, 2014 played to reporters on Wednesday, one man believed to be a Russian-speaking military commander asks another if he can "receive a BUK in the morning" saying his forces are under pressure from air strikes and he doesn't know if "they can hold on."

The 700-kilogramme (1,500-pound) BUK, a complex radar-guided ground-to-air anti-aircraft weapon, was fired from a field in Pervomaiskyi which at the time "was in the hands of the Russian separatists," said Paulissen.

The joint investigation "has identified approximately 100 people" believed to have had an "active role" in transporting the missile system, added chief investigator Fred Westerbeke.

Moscow, which remains under EU sanctions for its alleged role in the Ukrainian conflict, has always denied being part of the MH17 disaster. It described the inquiry as "biased" and "politically motivated" saying it was "disappointed" by the results.

Ukrainian rebels also quickly rejected any conclusion that they were behind the disaster.

"The forces of the People's Republic of Donetsk could not have fired at the plane from a BUK system because we have no such sort of weapons," general Eduard Basurin of the self-proclaimed republic told AFP.

But Dutch prosecutors later released the names of two men heard speaking Russian in a wiretapped conversation, saying they wanted more information about them.

"What is clear is that the BUK missile system came from Russia to Ukraine, was fired and taken back to Russia," Piet Ploeg, who lost three relatives in the disaster, told AFP.

The findings "clearly suggest the involvement of the Russian Federation," he added.

- 'Cowardly assassins' -

The criminal investigation has now been extended to 2018, but Westerbeke said he could make "no promises" about when any suspects would be brought to justice.

"The relatives have run out of patience. They want these cowardly assassins to be brought to justice," Evert van Zijtveld, who lost his 18-year-old son Robert-Jan and daughter Frederique, 19, and his parents-in-law, told the Dutch broadcaster NOS.

Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte called the preliminary findings "an important step on the road to the ultimate goal: finding and prosecuting the perpetrators."

And Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak said his country sought "firm action" so that those responsible "will be brought to justice."

Should any Russian suspects be identified however, the chances are small that they'd be prosecuted, as the Russian constitution expressly forbids Moscow from extraditing its citizens to another country.

Points from the MH17 investigation
Nieuwegein, Netherlands (AFP) Sept 28, 2016 - An international criminal inquiry into the 2014 downing of Flight MH17 over eastern Ukraine revealed Wednesday that a BUK missile which brought down the plane was transported from Russia.

Here are the main findings of the inquiry carried out by the Joint Investigation team (JIT), led by Dutch prosecutors with teams from Australia, Belgium, Malaysia and Ukraine.

- The weapon -

The JIT said it has "irrefutable evidence to establish that on 17 July 2014, Flight MH17 was shot down by a BUK missile from the 9M38-series." Some 298 people were killed when the Malaysia Airlines plane on a routine flight from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur was blown out of the skies over eastern Ukraine.

It made this determination by dismantling various types of BUK, a Russian-made ground-based air defence system, and comparing them to metal parts recovered from the crash site.

Investigators also ruled out alternative scenarios that the disaster was caused by an accident or a terror attack. And according to radar data, no other planes were in the area which could have shot it down.

- Where did the missile come from? -

Using photos, videos and intercepted phone conversations, the investigators retraced the missile system's route which they say originated in Russia.

"The system was transported from Russian territory into eastern Ukraine and was later transported on a white Volvo truck with a low-boy trailer. The truck was escorted by several other vehicles and by armed men in uniform," the inquiry concludes.

An intercepted telephone conversation said to be between two Russian-speaking men fighting on the side of the separatists suggests the launcher crossed the border on the night between July 16 and 17.

The wiretapped conversation intercepted on Wednesday, July 16, 2104 at 7:09 pm records one man, identified as Nikolayevich, saying he doesn't know if "his men can hold" and asking if he can "receive a BUK in the morning... that'd be good. If not things will go totally fucked up".

"If you need ... we'll send it over to your area," the other man, called Sanych, replies.

- The launch site -

The final destination of the BUK-TELAR launch system was farmland near Pervomaiskyi. Investigators said that at the time the field was in rebel-held territory.

Witnesses told the investigators they had seen "a plume of smoke, the BUK-TELAR at the launch site in Pervomaiskyi, and the missile right after it had been launched."

Multiple witnesses had also photographed the condensation trail of the missile and its movement.

"After the BUK missile had been fired, the BUK-TELAR initially drove off under its own power. A short time later it was reloaded onto the Volvo truck and transported back to the Russian border. During the night, the convoy crossed the border into the territory of the Russian Federation," the inquiry says.

- The perpetrators -

Investigators did not name any suspects, but revealed they have identified about 100 people "who can be linked to the downing of MH17 or the transport of the BUK-TELAR."

It is also probing the chain of command, and has extended the investigation to January 2018.

"Who gave the order to bring the BUK-TELAR into Ukraine and who gave the order to shoot down flight MH17? Did the crew decide for themselves or did they execute a command from their superiors? This is important when determining the offences committed by the alleged perpetrators," the inquiry states in its report.

The JIT team has put a number of intercepted phone conversations on its website www.jitmh17.com and is asking people who recognise the voices to come forward with information.


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