Shooting down of flight MH17: Russian smoke candles as a means of propaganda

The shooting down of flight MH17 was also a textbook example of Russian disinformation: in order to create confusion, numerous claims were made about the case – even if some of them had long been refuted.

On July 17, 2014, Malaysia Airline flight number 17, also known as MH17, was shot down over eastern Ukraine en route from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur. 298 people died. In view of the war that was already smoldering at the time – officially between pro-Russian separatists and Ukraine – the case was particularly explosive for the Russian government. Eventually, it drew attention to the role of the Kremlin, which until then had always denied any direct involvement in the war.

Evidence that the plane had been hit by a missile quickly became clear. Two investigative teams took on the case: a technical investigation into the cause of the crash, led by the Dutch Aviation Safety Council (OVV), and a criminal investigation, the Joint Investigation Team (JIT), to identify the culprits. But the Kremlin, together with the Russian state media, pursued their own approaches – and lit numerous smoke screens.

The Tale of the Ukrainian Fighter Jet

One of the first Russian versions of the alleged cause of the crash of flight MH17 was that a Ukrainian fighter jet shot down the plane – with reference to alleged radar data. In addition, the Russian state medium RT quoted an alleged witness who supported this version. The Kremlin maintained the version until the final report of the technical investigation was published on October 13, 2015 – with the result that the plane was hit by a Buk-type surface-to-air missile.

According to the investigators, radar data from Ukraine and Russia together gave a complete picture of the airspace over eastern Ukraine: At the time of the crash, there were no other aircraft in the vicinity, which ruled out the possibility of a fighter jet being shot down.

Where was the rocket launched?

But the Russian disinformation campaign had prepared for the foreseeable result – because already a Investigators’ interim report of the OVV suggested a surface-to-air missile as the probable cause of the crash. Therefore, parallel to the version that a Ukrainian fighter jet shot down flight MH17, the claim was made that Ukrainian soldiers shot down the plane with a Buk missile. For this, too, the Russian state media presented alleged eyewitnesses.

According to its own statements, the JIT investigated various possible launch sites for the Buk rocket. Among them were two locations near the Ukrainian village of Zaroshchenskoye that Moscow named as possible launch sites and were said to have been under the control of the Ukrainian military at the time.

However, through analysis of audio, video and photo material, soil samples and witness statements, it turned out for the investigators that this could not have been the shooting location. In addition, these places were under the control of pro-Russian fighters at the time.

Distrust of investigative teams

The international investigative teams have also been targeted by the Russian disinformation campaign. The Foreign Ministry in Moscow, among others, complained that the information provided by the Russian side was being ignored. In addition, the state media suggested that the investigators were not at all interested in finding the truth, but only wanted to support the Western narrative.

Especially after the release of one Interim report of the JIT at the end of September 2016 this version was often spread by Russian propaganda – finally the investigators came to the conclusion that a mobile Buk missile was brought to eastern Ukraine in July 2014, fired from there and the missile launcher was then immediately brought back to Russia.

Even in 2018, Russia’s Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov cited “unfalsifiable” radar location data, according to which the missile could not have come from the direction investigators claimed. However, the multinational investigative team only selectively accepted the data offered.

The JIT had long since confirmed that it had also received radar data from Russia. At the time, the JIT emphasized that it had evaluated “sufficient and important radar images” that had been made available by both Ukraine and Russia. Through intensive research, another video file with relevant primary radar data of the area, which had been recorded by a mobile radar in Ukraine, was found. The material is “more than sufficient” to draw conclusions as part of the criminal investigation.

Russia excluded from investigation?

The Russian Foreign Ministry has repeatedly raised the accusation that Russia had been excluded from full participation in the JIT investigation group and that Russia’s efforts were only classified as “secondary”. There was no basis whatsoever for Russia to become a member of the JIT: there were no Russian nationals on board MH17. And Russia did not see itself as a party to the conflict in eastern Ukraine.

In addition, Russian authorities were involved, contrary to the Kremlin’s claims: the Dutch public prosecutor’s office sent an initial request to Moscow in October 2014 and has been submitting questions again and again since then. In July 2016, a JIT delegation traveled to Moscow to clarify legal assistance.

Was the US Withholding Important Data?

In the Russian state media, the US was also accused of withholding important satellite images. This would only lead to the conclusion that the US had clear evidence that Ukraine was behind the disaster. The United States had made their data available to the investigative team, as confirmed by Dutch chief investigator Fred Westerbeke.

The then US ambassador in Kyiv, Geoffrey R. Pyatt, explained in a 2015 statement that the USA did not make the satellite images available to the public ARDInterview that the US would never release intelligence information.

Research association “Bellingcat” discredited

The research group “Bellingcat” and its founder Eliot Higgins, who had investigated the case with the help of publicly available data and provided valuable insights, were also sharply attacked by Russia. The Russian state media said, among other things, that “Bellingcat” was paid for by the Ukrainian leadership. In addition, “Bellingcat” manipulated images and videos and worked inaccurately.

The JIT contradicted this in one respect detailed video, which also shows images and data from the “Bellingcat” research. “Bellingcat” is also financed by crowd funding and by offering seminars and not by Ukraine.