Russian-linked men face MH17 charges
Dutch prosecutors investigating the downing of airliner over Ukraine issue arrest warrants
International arrest warrants have been issued for four men with Russian military links after they were charged with murdering nearly 300 people on flight MH17 in 2014. The Malaysia Airlines Boeing 777 was shot down over Ukraine, killing all 298 people on board. The men are accused of procuring and organising the deployment of the missile launcher that shot down the plane, which was hit by a Russian-made missile. Ten Britons were among the victims.
FOUR men with links to the Russian military have been charged with murdering nearly 300 people on board an airliner shot down over Ukraine.
Dutch investigators issued international arrest warrants for Igor “Strelkov” Girkin, Oleg Pulatov and Sergei Dubinsky, all Russian nationals, and Leonid Kharchenko, a Ukrainian.
The men are accused of procuring and organising the deployment of the Russian missile launcher that shot down flight MH17 in 2014.
Announcing the charges yesterday, Fred Westerbeke, the Dutch chief prosecutor, condemned the Kremlin for trying to obstruct the investigation.
“We have the proof that the Russian Federation was involved in this tragedy one way or another,” he said. “Russia has not provided any information … and that is a slap in the face of all of the relatives of the bereaved.”
All 298 people on the Malaysia Airlines Boeing 777, en route from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur, died when it was blown out of the sky by a Russianmade Buk missile on July 17, 2014.
Ten Britons were among the victims, about two thirds of whom were Dutch. It was the bloodiest single day in the war between Ukrainian troops and Russia-backed separatist forces that has killed about 13,000 people.
Russia has always denied involvement. But Australia and the Netherlands said last year that they held Russia legally responsible and would seek reparations.
The Dutch-led joint investigation team, which also includes Australian, Malaysian, Belgian and Ukrainian investigators, said the men named yesterday were instrumental in bringing the Buk 9M38 missile involved into Ukraine from Russia.
All were senior members of the selfproclaimed Donetsk People’s Republic (DNR), a separatist movement largely funded and directed from Moscow.
Mr Girkin, a former officer in Russia’s Federal Security Service, was the DNR’S “minister of defence” and top military commander at the time.
Mr Dubinsky, Mr Pulatov and Mr Kharchenko ran the DNR’S military intelligence service, which is believed to have controlled and escorted the Buk missile launcher on the day of the downing. Investigators say Mr Pulatov and Mr Dubinsky are serving or former members of Russia’s GRU military intelligence agency.
Mr Westerbeke said he was “realistic” about the prospects of bringing the suspects, who reside in Russia and separatist-held parts of Ukraine, to trial.
Investigations into the chain of command would continue, he added, and detectives were anxious to speak to soldiers from the 3rd battalion of Russia’s 53rd air defence brigade, which they believe provided the weapon and crew.
He would not say how far up the Russian chain of command the investigation might lead, but among evidence presented yesterday was an intercepted telephone conversation in which Alexander Borodai, the then DNR leader, asked Vladislav Surkov, an influential adviser to Vladimir Putin, for military reinforcements.
Silene Fredriksz, whose son and daughter-in-law were killed in the disaster, said she was “satisfied” with the announcement. “There is a court case on March 9 2020 against four people for murder,” she told reporters. “I am happy that the trial is finally going to start and that the names have been announced. It’s a start.”
The Kremlin said it had no reason to trust the investigation and that its position on the incident had not changed.
“Russia was unable to take part in the investigation despite expressing an interest right from the start and trying to join it,” said Dmitry Peskov, a spokesman for the Russian president.
Mr Girkin, who has fallen out of favour with the Kremlin since 2014, said in a statement: “I can only say that militia did not shoot down the Boeing.”
The man who answered a phone number previously listed for Sergei Dubinsky said he did not know him. Emails to addresses linked to Mr Dubinsky and Mr Pulatov did not immediately receive a response.
Jeremy Hunt, the Foreign Secretary, said: “The Russian Federation must now cooperate fully with the prosecution and provide any assistance it requests in accordance with UN Security Council resolution 2166.
“The charges brought against these individuals today show that the international community stands together against the impunity of those responsible for the despicable murder of 298 innocent people.”
The Russian foreign ministry called the findings “absolutely unfounded accusations aimed at discrediting the Russian Federation”.