Murder charges announced against main suspects in MH17 attack

For the first time since Malaysia Airlines Flight MH17
was shot down over Ukraine’s war-torn Donbas region in July 2014, prosecutors
have named the suspects in the attack killing 298 passengers and crew and
announced criminal charges for murer against them, the BBC reported on June 19.
International arrest warrants have been issued for three Russian citizens and
one Ukrainian citizen, prosecutors said, with the court case beginning in the
Netherlands on March 9, 2020. They are Sergei Dubinsky, who is alleged to have
organized the attack; Igor Girkin, who was the highest military commander in
the region and communicated with Dubinsky; Oleg Pulatov, who is alleged to have
helped transfer the Buk anti-aircraft missile system from Russia; and Ukrainian
Leonid Kharchenko, who is alleged to have helped set up the Buk system and
participated in its transfer to and from Russia. “Although they did not push
the button themselves, we suspect them of close cooperation to get the [missile
launcher] where it was, with the aim to shoot down an airplane,” said Dutch
chief prosecutor Fred Weterbeke, as reported by the BBC. The investigative
website Bellingcat has named 12 individuals it accuses of being involved in
transporting the missile used to shoot down MH17, including the four charged by
the Dutch-led Joint Investigative Team (JIT).

In response to the murder charges and arrest warrants,
the Russian Foreign Ministry said in a statement that it rejects the findings
of the JIT, which it alleged were “aimed at discrediting the Russian Federation
in the eyes of the international community.” Unnamed Dutch officials have told
news agencies that Russia refused to co-operate with the investigation, the BBC
said, but the Russian Foreign Ministry denied this claim, saying it has always
been interested in establishing the truth. Russia accused the KIT of using
dubious sources of information, including evidence fabricated by Ukraine, while
ignoring evidence offered by Russia. On the other hand, Ukrainian President
Volodymyr Zelensky issued a statement welcoming the Dutch-led inquiry’s
conclusions, saying he hoped those found guilty of “these brazen murders” will
be incarcerated. Though the Russian and Ukrainian constitutions forbid the
extradition of their citizens, Dutch law enforcement authorities will submit
requests for information about the whereabouts of those charged, as well as the
ability to question them, to the Russian and Ukrainian governments.

Zenon Zawada: The successful prosecution of these suspects will help to convince the
global community of the seriousness of the campaign of terrorism in Ukraine
that has been sponsored by the Russian government for the last five years. Such
support could prevent the relaxing or removal of sanctions against Russia,
although greater trends in business (Nord Stream 2) and politics (rise of
anti-immigrant parties) are leading in that direction.