Tapes show possible Putin link to downing of MH17

Investigators have released audio recordings that they say may implicate senior Russian officials close to Vladimir Putin in the shooting down of Malaysian Airlines flight MH17.

In an appeal for fresh witnesses, the Dutch-led joint investigation team (JIT) said it wanted to know whether Vladislav Surkov, an aide to Putin in his executive office, Sergei Shoigu, the defence minister, and Alexander Bortnikov, the head of the federal security service, played a role in the disaster.

‘‘The JIT is looking for information on the persons within the military and administrative hierarchy who enabled the shooting down of MH17 in eastern Ukraine using a Buk Telar [surface-to-air missile system],’’ it said, adding: ‘‘The JIT wants to get in touch with further witnesses who are able to testify about these command lines and the role that Russian government officials might have had.’’

Fred Westerbeke, the Netherlands’ chief prosecutor, has previously said the investigation has ‘‘proof’’ of Russian involvement in the downing of the aircraft, but yesterday’s statement is the first explicit suggestion that the criminal investigation may lead to the Kremlin itself. All 298 passengers and crew members were killed when the flight from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur was shot down on July 17 2014.

The JIT has concluded the jet was destroyed by a Russian-made Buk missile fired from territory controlled by Moscow-backed separatists who were then fighting a secessionist war against Ukraine.

The missile and launch vehicle have been traced to a Russian army unit. In June, Russians Igor ‘‘Strelkov’’ Girkin, Oleg Pulatov and Sergic Dubinsky, and Ukrainian Leonid Kharchenko, who held senior positions in the militant separatist movement, were charged with murder in relation to the case after being accused of procuring and organising the deployment of the Russian missile launcher used in the shootdown.

They are expected to be tried in absentia in the Netherlands in the spring.

Russia has always denied involvement in the war in eastern Ukraine, which has claimed more than 13,000 lives since April 2014.

However, the recordings released by the JIT yesterday include telephone conversations purportedly between separatist commanders and officials referring to ‘‘orders’’ from Moscow.

Maria Zakharova, the Russian foreign ministry’s spokesman, questioned the veracity of the recordings.

‘‘What are [the conclusions] based on? Publication of materials, some of which immediately turn out to be fake, and some of which don’t check out? We’ve been through this already,’’ she said yesterday. –