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| MH17: Rebels found responsible for shooting down Malaysia Airlines plane with Buk missile system from Russia | |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| Rebels were responsible for shooting down Malaysia Airlines flight MH17 over Ukraine and killing all 298 people on board, prosecutors have told the victims' relatives. | Rebels were responsible for shooting down Malaysia Airlines flight MH17 over Ukraine and killing all 298 people on board, prosecutors have told the victims' relatives. |
| Family members of the passengers and crew viewed a report by the Dutch-led Joint Investigation Team (JIT) before its release today, telling journalists it confirmed the missile that downed the plane was fired from rebel-controlled territory. | Family members of the passengers and crew viewed a report by the Dutch-led Joint Investigation Team (JIT) before its release today, telling journalists it confirmed the missile that downed the plane was fired from rebel-controlled territory. |
| Wilbert Paulissen, a senior Dutch police official, played a press conference intercepted phone conversations between rebel fighters discussing a Buk missile system. | |
| “It may be concluded that MH17 was shot down by a Buk missile system…brought in from Russian Federation territory and returned to Russian territory after its launch,” he added. | |
| The probe aims to identify and prosecute those behind the attack on the passenger plane as it flew from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur on 17 July 2014. | |
| Silene Fredriksz, whose son Bryce was on the flight with his girlfriend, Daisy, had expected investigators to confirm long-held suspicions that pro-Russian groups were responsible. | Silene Fredriksz, whose son Bryce was on the flight with his girlfriend, Daisy, had expected investigators to confirm long-held suspicions that pro-Russian groups were responsible. |
| “We will be able to deduce whether it was Russian or Ukrainian and I think we will just get a confirmation of what we have thought for months: that is was the prior,” she said ahead of the report’s release. | “We will be able to deduce whether it was Russian or Ukrainian and I think we will just get a confirmation of what we have thought for months: that is was the prior,” she said ahead of the report’s release. |
| “This is an important step. As a family we are impatient. We want to know what happened, how it happened and why. We want those responsible to face justice.” | “This is an important step. As a family we are impatient. We want to know what happened, how it happened and why. We want those responsible to face justice.” |
| A separate investigation completed by the Dutch Safety Board last year concluded that the plane was downed by a warhead fired by a Buk system that detonated a metre away. | A separate investigation completed by the Dutch Safety Board last year concluded that the plane was downed by a warhead fired by a Buk system that detonated a metre away. |
| It fired around 800 “high energy” fragments into the cockpit, killing the three crew members inside immediately and causing the Boeing 777 to break up in the air. | It fired around 800 “high energy” fragments into the cockpit, killing the three crew members inside immediately and causing the Boeing 777 to break up in the air. |
| Those findings did not assign responsibility for the disaster, which is the subject of a separate criminal probe, but identified a 320 sq km area of eastern Ukraine from which the missile was fired. | Those findings did not assign responsibility for the disaster, which is the subject of a separate criminal probe, but identified a 320 sq km area of eastern Ukraine from which the missile was fired. |
| Shortly after MH17’s disappearance, a post attributed to separatist leader Igor Girkin, a Russian army veteran known as Strelkov, claimed rebels had shot down a Ukrainian military transport plane. | Shortly after MH17’s disappearance, a post attributed to separatist leader Igor Girkin, a Russian army veteran known as Strelkov, claimed rebels had shot down a Ukrainian military transport plane. |
| The swiftly-deleted post on Russian social network VKontakte was accompanied by a video of rising smoke and said: “We warned them - don’t fly in our sky.” | The swiftly-deleted post on Russian social network VKontakte was accompanied by a video of rising smoke and said: “We warned them - don’t fly in our sky.” |
| Intercepted phone calls between rebels also appeared to show their involvement, with an alleged recording dated on 18 July 2014 showing a man saying the launcher had been brought from Russia by a contact code-named “the Librarian”. | Intercepted phone calls between rebels also appeared to show their involvement, with an alleged recording dated on 18 July 2014 showing a man saying the launcher had been brought from Russia by a contact code-named “the Librarian”. |
| Recordings released by the Security Service of Ukraine appeared to show a panicked militant telling a superior: “It was 100 per cent a passenger aircraft…there are civilian items, medicinal stuff, towels, toilet paper.” | Recordings released by the Security Service of Ukraine appeared to show a panicked militant telling a superior: “It was 100 per cent a passenger aircraft…there are civilian items, medicinal stuff, towels, toilet paper.” |
| Separatist groups have since denied any involvement in the disaster, while Russian officials have continually dismissed allegations of soldiers or equipment being deployed in Ukraine. | Separatist groups have since denied any involvement in the disaster, while Russian officials have continually dismissed allegations of soldiers or equipment being deployed in Ukraine. |
| In its own investigation, Russian Buk manufacturer Almaz Antey claimed the deadly missile was fired from Zaroschenskoye and that Ukrainian forces were stationed there at the time. | In its own investigation, Russian Buk manufacturer Almaz Antey claimed the deadly missile was fired from Zaroschenskoye and that Ukrainian forces were stationed there at the time. |
| “We have investigated this and been able to establish that this was not the launch location, and moreover that it was controlled by pro-Russian rebels at the time,” Mr Paulissen said. | |
| Ahead of the report's release on Wednesday, a spokesperson for the Kremlin again claimed radar data showed rebels did not fire the missile that brought down MH17. | |
| Dmitry Peskov said data obtained by the Russian military had already made clear that the rocket had not been fired from rebel territory, but from elsewhere. | Dmitry Peskov said data obtained by the Russian military had already made clear that the rocket had not been fired from rebel territory, but from elsewhere. |
| “First-hand radar data identified all flying objects which could have been launched or in the air over the territory controlled by rebels at that moment,” he added. | “First-hand radar data identified all flying objects which could have been launched or in the air over the territory controlled by rebels at that moment,” he added. |
| “The data are clear-cut...there is no rocket. If there was a rocket, it could only have been fired from elsewhere.” | “The data are clear-cut...there is no rocket. If there was a rocket, it could only have been fired from elsewhere.” |
| The JIT previously released footage and images of a Buk missile launcher being transported through the rebel-held Donbass region and the town of Snizhne as part of a call for witnesses. | The JIT previously released footage and images of a Buk missile launcher being transported through the rebel-held Donbass region and the town of Snizhne as part of a call for witnesses. |
| Comprising prosecutors from the countries with the most passengers on board the flight – the Netherlands, Australia, Malaysia and Belgium – and Ukraine, the JIT previously said it would “ensure the independence of the investigation”. | Comprising prosecutors from the countries with the most passengers on board the flight – the Netherlands, Australia, Malaysia and Belgium – and Ukraine, the JIT previously said it would “ensure the independence of the investigation”. |
| Investigators have examined all human remains, personal belongings and wreckage from the Boeing 777, which broke up mid-air and spread debris over several miles. | Investigators have examined all human remains, personal belongings and wreckage from the Boeing 777, which broke up mid-air and spread debris over several miles. |
| The JIT has primary responsibility for establishing the case for prosecutions after the UN Security Council failed to adopt a resolution that would have established an international tribunal for prosecuting those responsible for downing MH17 at a meeting in July 2015. | The JIT has primary responsibility for establishing the case for prosecutions after the UN Security Council failed to adopt a resolution that would have established an international tribunal for prosecuting those responsible for downing MH17 at a meeting in July 2015. |
| Malaysia's Prime Minister, Najib Razak, said the countries involved would move swiftly to establish the course of action following Wednesday’s findings. | Malaysia's Prime Minister, Najib Razak, said the countries involved would move swiftly to establish the course of action following Wednesday’s findings. |
| “We remain committed to bring those people responsible to justice,” he added. | “We remain committed to bring those people responsible to justice,” he added. |
| The Ukrainian government is locked in a two-and-a-half year long conflict with separatist rebels controlling territory in the east, including the area where MH17 wreckage landed around Hrabove. | The Ukrainian government is locked in a two-and-a-half year long conflict with separatist rebels controlling territory in the east, including the area where MH17 wreckage landed around Hrabove. |
| The insurgency started in the east following the toppling of President Viktor Yanukovych in February 2014. | The insurgency started in the east following the toppling of President Viktor Yanukovych in February 2014. |
| A United Nations report recently warned of increasing civilian casualties in eastern Ukraine, where hostilities between the government and rebel groups have been escalating as international attention wanes. | A United Nations report recently warned of increasing civilian casualties in eastern Ukraine, where hostilities between the government and rebel groups have been escalating as international attention wanes. |
| Amid in densely populated areas, civilians have been killed by shelling, mines and bombs, as well as an unknown number dying from a lack of food, water, medicine or healthcare. | Amid in densely populated areas, civilians have been killed by shelling, mines and bombs, as well as an unknown number dying from a lack of food, water, medicine or healthcare. |
| Monitors have also recorded reports of human rights abuses including torture, ill-treatment and incommunicado detention, committed with “very limited accountability” and concern over fair trials. | Monitors have also recorded reports of human rights abuses including torture, ill-treatment and incommunicado detention, committed with “very limited accountability” and concern over fair trials. |
| More than 9,600 people have so far been killed and 22,400 injured in the conflict so far, with a volatile ceasefire restored on 1 September. | More than 9,600 people have so far been killed and 22,400 injured in the conflict so far, with a volatile ceasefire restored on 1 September. |