FLIGHT MH17 - Russia again claims Ukraine shot down MH17

Russia again claims Ukraine shot down MH17

Russian committee announces anonymous testimony in similar development to photographs released in November that were dismissed as fakes

Agencies

theguardian.com, Thursday 25 December 2014 02.24 GMT

Flowers left by parents of an Australian victim of the MH17 crash laying on a piece of the Malaysia Airlines plane in the Donetsk region in July. Photograph: Bulent Kilic/AFP/Getty Images

A shadowy Russian organisation claiming to be investigating the MH17 crash has claimed that a Ukrainian pilot fired a missile on the day the Malaysia Airlines plane went down, killing 298 people.

The group said a witness, who was not named, worked at an airfield in the Ukrainian city of Dnipropetrovsk where he claimed to have seen a warplane take off on 17 July with air-to-air missiles and return without them, a Russian report said.

The group describing itself as a Russian investigative committee said the testimony of the man “is important proof that Ukrainian military was implicated in the crash of the Boeing 777”.

However, previous claims of Ukrainian involvement in shooting down the civilian passenger jet have been roundly dismissed. Efforts to shift the blame from the Kremlin have extended to supposed satellite photos that were said to implicate the Ukrainians but were quickly identified as crude fakes and dismissed.

The MH17 flight from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur was shot down over territory in eastern Ukraine controlled by pro-Russian separatists, who have been fighting Kiev forces since April.

Ukraine and the west say a Russian surface-to-air missile launcher was used to shoot it down but Russia has issued several opposing theories.

On Thursday the Ukrainian government and separatists concluded “difficult” marathon talks without agreeing the date of a new round aimed at ending the pro-Russian uprising devastating the ex-Soviet state’s industrial east.

The five-hour preliminary discussion in the Belarussian capital Minsk had been tentatively due to be followed by a second meeting on Friday at which a final accord was to be signed. But separatist representatives stressed that they could not yet promise whether the negotiations would resume as planned.

“We had a difficult preliminary meeting,” Donetsk separatist region mediator Denis Pushilin told a pro-separatist news site. “The date and time of the next meeting is still up in the air. It is under discussion.”

Dutch authorities have been charged with establishing exactly what brought down the plane and are reconstructing part of the aircraft as part of their inquiry. Preliminary findings indicate only that the plane broke apart due to damage that came from outside.

Source: http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/dec/25/mh17-russia-claims-to-have-airfield-witness-who-blames-ukrainian-pilot

FLIGHT MH17 - Russia reveals 'witness' who blames Ukraine pilot

24 December 2014 Last updated at 14:35

MH17: Russia reveals 'witness' who blames Ukraine pilot

Flight MH17 from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur was shot down over rebel-held territory in eastern Ukraine

Russian investigators say a Ukrainian serviceman has provided evidence that a Malaysia Airlines plane that crashed in July may have been shot down by a Ukrainian air force pilot.

A "secret witness" told a Russian newspaper this week that an Su-25 fighter pilot had fired his air-to-air missiles at the wrong aircraft.

Ukraine has rejected the claim as fake.

Flight MH17 from Amsterdam was downed over eastern Ukraine on 17 July with the loss of all 298 people on board.

Suspicion immediately focused on a Russian-made Buk missile launcher seen in territory controlled by pro-Russian rebels at the time.

The head of the Dutch-led criminal inquiry, Fred Westerbeke, told Dutch broadcaster NOS on Saturday there were "very many indications" that the plane had been brought down by a missile filed from a Buk rocket launcher.

Wreckage from the plane has been taken to Gilze-Rijen airbase in the Netherlands to be analysed

However, all options were being kept open and the possibility of the plane being shot down from the air was being considered, he said.

Russia's authorities have already suggested that a Ukrainian fighter jet brought the plane down, however when state TV broadcast a picture of the moment it said an air-to-air missile had been fired, it was widely dismissed as a fake.

The latest Russian evidence came to light after a man contacted Komsomolskaya Pravda newspaper, saying he had been at Aviatorske airport near the Ukrainian city of Dnipropetrovsk when flight MH17 was shot down.

In an interview in Russian with his back to the camera, the man, whose head was blurred and his voice digitally altered, said that an Su-25 plane that had taken off armed with air-to-air missiles before MH17 had been shot down had returned without its weaponry.

He named the pilot as Capt Voloshyn and said the man was very scared. He quoted the pilot as saying "the aircraft was in the wrong place at the wrong time".

His comments were widely reported on Tuesday on Russian state TV and Russia's Investigations Committee announced immediately that it would look into the interview.

Russian TV broadcast a photo last month claiming to show MH17 under attack - it was widely discredited

A committee spokesman, Vladimir Markin, told reporters on Wednesday that investigators had met the man and he had passed a polygraph test.

"The witness's evidence is not the only [evidence] but [it is] very important evidence that the Ukrainian armed forces were involved in the Boeing crash," Interfax news agency quoted Mr Markin as saying. The man could now be given witness protection as he may be in danger, he added.

Ukraine's SBU security service refused to comment on the statement because it said the information was false, Interfax Ukraine reported.

The Dutch Safety Board, leading an international inquiry into the cause of the disaster, has so far only issued a preliminary report stating that the aircraft was penetrated by "high-energy objects".

A spokeswoman told BBC News that the inquiry had received a lot of information and Russia was part of the investigation team. "We'll look at [the evidence] very seriously and if it's relevant we'll use it in this investigation."

Wreckage from the crashed Boeing 777 plane has been transported to the Netherlands for reconstruction as part of the inquiry.

The safety board aims to complete its work by mid-2015.

Source: http://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-30597555

FLIGHT MH17 - 'Ukrainian military worker' claims one of his country's fighter jets shot down MH17 after confusing the passenger plane for Russian air force

'Ukrainian military worker' claims one of his country's fighter jets shot down MH17 after confusing the passenger plane for Russian air force

• Ukrainian military base employee claims MH17 was shot down by air force
• He told a Moscow newspaper the jet was carrying air-to-air missiles
• The unnamed source said the pilot then returned without the missiles
• He claimed the pilot emerged from the cockpit looking 'very frightened' 
• The Russia Investigative Committee also gave him a lie detector test
• Russian state investigators say his sensational claims are 'truthful'
• 
  

By WILL STEWART FOR MAILONLINE

PUBLISHED: 13:58 GMT, 24 December 2014 | UPDATED: 15:29 GMT, 24 December 2014

A Ukrainian military base employee has made the sensational claim that a one his country's own air force planes shot down Malaysian flight MH17 killing all 298 on board.

The unnamed employee claimed to a Moscow newspaper that a Ukrainian air force Su-25 combat jet took off from an airbase in eastern Dnipropetrovsk carrying air-to-air missiles - and returned without them - on the day the Boeing 777 was shot out of the sky.

The pilot on his return emerged from his cockpit looking frightened, said the source, according to Komsomolskaya Pravda.

Scroll down for video 

The unidentified official sits with his back to the camera and his face obscured during an interview with three men from Komsomolskaya Pravda, a Russian media outlet

The pilot, named as Captain Vladislav Voloshin, said 'the plane was in the wrong place at the wrong time' evidently having confused the Boeing for a military target, said the source.

'In the second half of the day, roughly an hour before the Boeing was shot down, three fighters took off,' said the source. 

'I don't remember the exact hour. One of the jets was equipped with air-to-air missiles. It was a Sukhoi-25.'

Only one plane returned to this air base, he said, and it was the one that previously had the missiles suspended below. 

Russia has repeatedly argued that MH17 was downed not by pro-Moscow rebels using a BUK missile system but by a Ukrainian warplane.

The planes were normally deployed to strike at rebel targets in eastern Ukraine, he said, but this time the aircraft had air-to-air missiles fitted.

'They are suspended to a fighter jet only on a special order,' he said. 'Most typically, the commanders didn't order this because such missiles can't be carried in the air for no particular reason.'

Local services begin clearing the MH17 wreckage in Ukraine

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Emergency services workers sift through the debris of MH17 in Ukraine the day after it crashed

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Wreckage of the downed aircraft smolders in the hours after it crashed in eastern Ukraine

Ukraine rejects 'fake' photos of MH17 downing (Archive)

He explained that these missiles had been decommissioned long before but their combat employment was urgently authorized again literally a week before the MH17 accident.

He claimed that the missile would be capable of hitting a plane's fuselage, whether directly or from a distance of 500 meters.

The man said he had gone to the Russian media despite threats from the Ukrainian secret service.

He was against the war in eastern Ukraine, blaming the Kiev authorities for their use of force.

A spokesman for Russia's powerful Investigative Committee later said the official's claims 

were truthful, following an interview and lie detector test administered by the committee itself.

He said: 'According to his account, he personally saw the plane piloted by Voloshin armed 

with R-60 air-to-air missiles.

'He added there was no need for such weapons during regular air missions of the Ukrainian 

Air Forces because the rebel forces had no military aircraft,' RT reported.

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Two members of the Ukrainian emergency services collect the body of a victim of MH17

Soon after the horror on 17 July, the Russian Ministry of Defense claimed a Ukrainian Su-25 fighter plane was in the sky close to MH17.

The version is starkly at odds with Ukrainian and Western theories on the downing of the plane.

They have pointed to a ground-fired BUK missile as being responsible.

Russia has also claimed its evidence has not been given due weight by a Dutch-led probe into disaster due to report in 2015.

According to the preliminary information of the DSB, the Boeing was hit by a large number of high-energy objects penetrating the aircraft from outside, but the source of the objects was not found.

The Ukrainian air force has not responded to a request for comment.

Source: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2886263/Ukrainian-military-worker-claims-one-country-s-fighter-jets-shot-MH17-confusing-passenger-plane-Russian-air-force.html#ixzz3MtSTatIz 

FLIGHT MH17 - Family of student travelling to Australia when he died on MH17 reveal there are still another 700 body parts to identify

Family of student travelling to Australia when he died on MH17 reveal there are still another 700 body parts to identify

• Ben Pocock was killed when MH17 was shot from the sky over the Ukraine
• He was travelling to Perth to study at the University of Western Australia 
• His family say there are still 700 body parts to identify
• 
  

By SARAH CARTY FOR DAILY MAIL AUSTRALIA and AUSTRALIAN ASSOCIATED PRESS

PUBLISHED: 22:49 GMT, 18 December 2014 | UPDATED: 23:27 GMT, 18 December 2014

The family of a British student who was travelling to Australia when he died on MH17 has revealed there are still 700 fragments of human remains to be identified in the Netherlands.

Ben Pocock, 20, from Keynsham, Bristol, was a second-year international business degree student at Loughborough University. 

He was en route to Perth to study at the University of Western Australia when Malaysia Airlines flight 17 was shot down over eastern Ukraine in mid-July.

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Ben Pocock was one of 10 Britons who died on board Malaysia Airlines flight MH17

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The family of a British student who was travelling to Australia when he died on MH17 has revealed there are still 700 fragments of 

human remains to be identified in the Netherlands

Ben's father, Jeremy Pocock, says his family has been fortunate in a way because they've been able to recover quite a lot of his body.

'But we are one of those families that will almost certainly have to go through the process of dealing with further identifications,' he told BBC TV on Thursday night (Friday morning AEDT).

'Only a few days ago we were informed that there are another 700 fragments of human tissue or bones yet to be identified and that's a process that's going to go until April or May.

Hundreds attend funeral of British MH17 victim

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Mo, Evie and Otis Maslin who were killed on flight MH17 when their plane was shot down over Ukraine after returning from a holiday to Amsterdam

'So there are a lot of families that are going to be receiving news of yet more identifications over the coming months and we may be one of them.'

Authorities announced in early December that some fragments of all 38 Australians who died on MH17 had at last been formally identified. 

All 298 people on board the flight, from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur, died when the jet was shot down over an area of Ukraine controlled by pro-Russia separatists on July 17. 

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the family of Ben Pocock have revealed that 700 pieces of human remains still need to be identified 

NEW footage shows immediate aftermath of MH17 crash

Mr Pocock said four Dutch families were still waiting for loved ones to be identified and even where identification had been possible in some cases it was 'minimal'.

Many believe Russian-backed rebels shot down MH17 on July 17, but the exact cause remains unknown.

'The most important question for me and for my family - and all the other families I should imagine - is what happened and who did it?' Mr Pocock said.

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Mary and Gerry Menke were aboard the doomed flight when it was shot down over the Ukraine 

'They must be held to account. That's it - that's the bottom line.

'(But) we have to be careful that we don't jump the gun and that we've got all the evidence and it's properly gathered.'

The first sections of wreckage arrived in the Netherlands last week.

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Australian woman Emma Bell was a victim of the MH17 crash 

Australia's lead envoy in the investigation, Angus Houston, expects the wreckage will indicate what happened.

But the criminal investigation into who's responsible will be 'exceedingly difficult', he cautioned last week.

Ben, an international business student, was heading to Australia for six months of study and travel.

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Queensland resident Roger Guard was on the flight when pro-Russian rebels shot down the plane 

Mr Pocock said his wife Louise would have liked a final coffee with Ben at Bristol airport but he was so excited he headed straight through to the gates.

'So we said our goodbyes, we had a hug and that was it,' Mr Pocock said.

'We watched him go off into departures and ... we never saw him again.'

Ben's younger sister, Emily, said grieving had been very strange because her brother was supposed to be in Australia for six months anyway.

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Sister Philomene Tiernan, who was well-loved in her by all her pupils, died onboard MH17

'He wasn't supposed to be at home,' she told the BBC.

'So we've had a hard time actually accepting what's happened.'

Mr Pocock discovered news of the crash after checking Twitter on his phone as he returned home.

'It said a Malaysia Airlines flight had crashed and I just knew, in that second, that it was his,' he said.

'Even though I couldn't quite recall the flight number I just knew immediately that it was his flight.'

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Pro-Russian rebels shot down the plane from the sky after it entered Ukraine airspace 

Mr Pocock said his family were desperate for answers over what had happened and who was responsible.

'The most important question for me, and for my family and for all the other families I should imagine, is what happened and who did it, i n very, very simple terms.

'They should be held to account. That's it, that's the bottom line.' 

The victims of the crash included 10 Britons, 43 Malaysians and 195 Dutch nationals. 

Source: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2879820/Family-student-travelling-Australia-died-MH17-reveal-700-human-remains-identify.html#ixzz3MJEfo3wy 

FLIGHT MH17 - Shooting Down MH 17 – BUK 312 Story False Says Ukraine Crew Member

By Michael Collins

Global Research, December 17, 2014

Ukraine War

Region: Russia and FSU

In-depth Report: UKRAINE REPORT

The shoot down of Malaysian Airlines flight MH 17 came into greater focus with the December 15 YouTube video featuring a former crew member of BUK self-propelled fire installation, number 312 (BUK 312). Ukraine’s government and others maintained that the BUK 312 unit shot down MH17 while manned by a resistance crew.   The Obama administration championed that narrative holding both the resistance and Russia responsible for the 298 deaths on July 17. The interview was conducted by investigative journalist Anatoly Sharij and translated by Marina Stewart (see full test in English at end of this article).   (Image: BUK 312 in Kiev junta territory – Anatoly Sharij)

The 23-year-old former BUK 312 crew member revealed that the missile unit was in fact manned by the Ukraine military. He outlines the missile system’s location and how it operated.   The former sergeant also offered analysis and research indicating the very low probability that the 312 crew shot down MH17.

Claims that the eastern Ukraine resistance shot down MH 17 with a BUK system rely on a Ukraine government audiotape in which resistance commanders allegedly admit to the shoot down. The tape lost credibility when it was discovered that a key part of the recording was made hours before the crash. In addition, the tape was patched together, not a continuous conversation.

The Ukraine secret service (SBU) claimed to produce photographs of a Russian BUK 312 missile system fully capable of knocking MH17 out of the skies. When that evidence failed to pass muster, an “open source” investigation by Eliot Higgins (also known as Brown Moses) allegedly produced evidence that the BUK 312 system was in the town of Snizhne in the Donetsk region controlled by the resistance.

If the BUK 312 was in Snizhne, as claimed, with a capable resistance crew, both doubtful assumptions, we would need to believe that the crew did nothing to protect Snizhne on July 15 (just two days before the MH17 shoot down) when Ukraine’s air force leveled major sections of the city (BBC, July 15).

The real story of who, how, and why MH 17 was destroyed is emerging over time. The interview adds evidence that deserves serious consideration. The former soldier, known as “A,” described his role in the Ukraine military and how the BUK 312 unit was staffed:

“I am 23, and I have been in contract service with the Ukrainian army. Last summer the contract term came to an end, but I was not dismissed from service for reasons well known to you. My duty station was the exact BUK self-propelled fire installation (Russian abbreviation transliterated as SOU – translator) number 312…”

A says that BUK 312 unit had a four member crew. He was the “deputy commander.” The unit started out in “Lugansk and [was] relocated to Kramatorsk. Donetsk.”   The former deputy commander explains the origin of the 312 label:

This is how you decipher 312:

3 stands for the third (Lugansk) division,
1 stands for the battery number, ours was no. 1,
2 stands for one of the 2. service units in each battery, ours was no. 2.

Interviewer Sharij asks: “This BUK 312 was said to be a Russian missile launcher.”

A responds: “No. This BUK is 100% Ukrainian one. … It made us all laugh, the way SBU presented this as BUK of the rebels or Russian BUK.”

AS: What do you think about this BUK downing the Malaysian Boeing?

A: No clue. By the time it happened I was transferred to Avdeevka division. I only heard SBU [Ukraine secret police] say this particular missile launcher with board number 312 downed the Boeing. All I know it couldn’t have done this. I spoke with my ex-comrades in arms and they said they didn’t do it.

In the days after the shoot down, Robert Parry reported government sources saying that their evidence indicated that a Ukrainian missile crew shot down MH 17. Reporting by Eric Zeusse followed up indicating credibility to the claim that a Ukraine fighter jet shot down the civilian airliner.

The speculation over the BUK 312 system may have just been a smokescreen to divert attention away from the real culprit, whomever that may be.   A review of the full interview shows the value of direct testimony by involved parties.

Creative Commons

FULL TRANSCRIPT – Anatoly Sharij interview with former BUK 312 crew member Posted Dec 17, 2014, YouTube Translation Marina Stewart

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ri_D2Iz7EVw

Anatoly Sharij: You may still remember the BUK which photo was published by the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) as a Russian one. You may also remember me dwelling on it. I received a lot of feedback saying I was lying etc. Here’s an interview with Ukrainian contract sergeant crossing “t’s” and dotting “i’s”.

Anatoly Sharij (AS): Good afternoon.

A: Good afternoon. Good to be talking to you. I have been watching your videos for quite some time now, and I have to say you do uncover the truth.

I am 23, and I have been in contract service with the Ukrainian army. Last summer the contract term came to an end, but I was not dismissed from service for reasons well known to you. My duty station was the exact BUK self-propelled fire installation (Russian abbreviation transliterated as SOU – translator) number 312 you made your video about, I happened to recently come across it on the Internet.

The SOU has 4 crew members: service commander, me as deputy commander, driver and operator. This SOU 312 you made your video about was dislocated in Lugansk and your video shows it being relocated to Kramatorsk. Donetsk has a surface-to-air missile regiment having these BUK M1 on the inventory. The regiment consists of three divisions:

(1) in Avdeevka
(2) in Mariupol
(3) in Lugansk

This is how you decipher 312:

3 stands for the third (Lugansk) division,
1 stands for the battery number, ours was no. 1,
2 stands for one of the 2. service units in each battery, ours was no. 2.

BUK is a complex of 4 specialized military vehicles: command post, mobile target detection and assignment station, loading and starting station, self-propelled fire installation.

At the time the Boeing was downed I was out of army already, so I can’t say anything about it, but when it all began in the Crimea, this capture of military units, we’ve been ordered to leave our permanent disposition in Lugansk.

AS: This BUK 312 was said to be a Russian missile launcher.

A: No. This BUK is 100% Ukrainian one. The photo I sent you, the one with Yubileynaya mines on the background, has been made in Lugansk. (3’49”)

Our military unit was dislocated in Metallist settlement, on the upland near Lugansk, and this is the view from there. It made us all laugh, the way SBU presented this as BUK of the rebels or Russian BUK.

AS: What do you think about this BUK downing the Malaysian Boeing?

A: No clue. By the time it happened I was transferred to Avdeevka division. I only heard SBU [Ukraine secret police] say this particular missile launcher with board number 312 downed the Boeing. All I know it couldn’t have done this. I spoke with my ex-comrades in arms and they said they didn’t do it.

The first relocation of our Lugansk division was to Kramatorsk military airdrome. We’ve been allocated barracks there. In a month we’ ve been moved into the fields in Dnepropetrovskaya Oblast, Novaya Grigorievka village.

The photo you showed in one of your videos, the bad quality one (5’50”) was taken when our SOU commander decided to drive it, but the electric wiring inside the SOU ignited. The missiles nearly exploded, but luckily firefighters came on time to put the fire down. That’s why it was moved on the low-base semi-trailer as seen in the picture.

Let me tell you some about the Ukrainian army. While in the fields, the officers were boozing heavily, while soldiers and sergeants were not allowed to go to the nearby shop. I was actually planning to quit after my first contract term, but they wouldn’t let me. Being a straight shooter, I was outraged at this, so they started to pressure me, pitted other soldiers against me. The situation in general was very depressing, people kept deserting, many went over to the rebels, I, too, went to the hospital in Kharkov and just didn’t come back. The border is close there.

AS: What do you think was the purpose of using BUK at all in the combat area?

A: I don’t know. Initially this withdrawal may have been done to avoid BUK capture. Then, I suppose, this may have been due to shortage of manpower on the front…

AS: Strange….

A: But this is

A: But this is my guess only, for even officers didn’t know it, so it seemed, may be only commanding officer and chief of staff knew the reason. I am still unaware why would they want to do this, for BUK air missile launchers are deployed against airborne targets, the rebels have no aviation, so we are useless for ATO [“anti terrorist operation[ purposes. They did move some people from our division to ATO, a major general came to talk to those who were unwilling to take part in this campaign, I said I don’t want to go as I see no sense in it, besides, I already served my term, so I was transferred 80 kilometres away, to Vasilkovka village, to where 1st Avdeevka BUK division was.

When we left Lugansk, only three unusable complexes remained there, and those which did leave Lugansk, also broke down right after leaving the city, some were repaired en route, others were transported on low-base semi-trailers. Those which were left in Lugansk, lacked whole equipment units.

AS: but one must be able to use these…

A: So far as I could gather they do have professionals there. My friends in Lugansk when passing the military unit saw through the fence rebels trying to repair the complexes.

AS: What’s your opinion as a professional, who may have downed the Boeing?

A: Judging by firing zone, Ukrainian army did it.

AS: And the purpose?

A: No idea. I only know the kind of professionals they are, it could have happened unintentionally.

AS: What do you mean, unintentionally? They should have been given coordinates, the height, the speed of the target etc., it isn’t just a matter of pressing a button, is it?

A: Exactly. There’s a friend or foe comms exchange between the complex units, so you are right, it couldn’t have happened accidentally.

AS: Why firing at all then? They couldn’t have thought it was the rebels jet fighter, right?

A: I agree.

In general Ukrainian army lacks qualified manpower badly, many people just left the army, my friends are in Moscow, Novosibirsk, Rostov, elsewhere…

(Laughing)

One can’t get dismissed from service no matter what he does. If you abstain from entry on duty or, say, curse everyone, you won’t be dismissed. Many people just desert the army.

AS: And how are they accounted for? As missing?

A: It’s a mystery to me. But we had 15 sergeants and now only three are left, all of them are in ATO zone. They used to send some people to ATO from all our divisions before, now one of the divisions in full is there. I can’t make out why would they want BUK divisions there, rebels still don’t have jet fighters. It must really be shortage of soldiers, you have a video on rioting conscripts having exceeded their term of service by 8 months.

AS: Yeah, they have all been labeled Kremlin spies when they raised this issue with their commanders. A real Ukrainian should be willing to serve in the army for 2, 3, 5 years…

A: …for 154 hrivnyas a month…

I am not scared of anything and I have nothing to conceal.

Wish you new uncovering videos!

END of transcript

Source: http://www.globalresearch.ca/shooting-down-mh-17-buk-312-story-false-says-ukraine-crew-member/5420405