Putin probably gave order to send Buk missile launcher that shot down MH17: investigations

According to the investigation, the decision to supply the Buk missile launcher to the militants of the so-called Donetsk People's Republic was made by the president of russia, vladimir putin.

This is the conclusion reached by the Joint Investigation Team (JIT), the European Pravda writes.

The Joint Investigation Team published the investigation results on those responsible in the russian federation for the downing of flight MH17 by the Buk missile.

In recorded phone conversations, russian officials say that the president was to make decisions on military aid.

According to the records, such a decision was postponed for a week: "because there is only one  person who can decide…, the person who is now attending a summit in France."

On June 5 and 6, 2014, president putin was in France to celebrate D-Day (the massive landings of allies in Normandy during the Second World War).

"There is specific information that the separatists' request was conveyed to the president and that this request was approved. It is not known who is mentioned in the Buk request system. A little later, heavier air defense systems appeared, including the Buk missile launcher from which MH17 was shot down. Although we are talking about strong evidence, full and convincing evidence has not been provided. Moreover, the president enjoys immunity as head of state," the report stated.

The JIT shared its investigations with the families of 298 victims and published a report.

Although much new information has been released on many people involved, the evidence needs to be stronger at this time to lead to further judicial investigations.

Meanwhile, on November 17, 2022, the District Court of The Hague sentenced Igor Girkin, Serhiy Dubinsky, and Leonid Kharchenko to life imprisonment in absentia for their role in the downing of the Malaysian airliner MH17 over Donbas. It issued an order to ensure their arrest.

The court ruled that they must pay more than 16 million euros in compensation to the victims' relatives.

It should be mentioned that the court found the fourth defendant, Oleh Pulatov, innocent even though he was Girkin's deputy and passed on other proven instructions regarding the Buk evacuation system.

The Hague Court also recognized that russia controlled the "Donetsk People's Republic" during the downing of the MH17 airliner.

For reference:

 The passenger Boeing-777 of "Malaysia Airlines", which was performing flight MH17 from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur, crashed in the temporarily occupied part of the Donetsk region on July 17, 2014. There were 283 passengers and 15 crew members on board the liner, all of them died.