Military intelligence of the Netherlands did not find a single Buk air defense system that could bring down a Malaysian Boeing that crashed near Donetsk in 2014. About this in an article entitled “Was the investigation on MH17 properly?” tells the journalist and author of the film about the crash, Max Van der Verff.
Van der Werff published on his website some documents of the Joint Investigative Group (SSG), including a letter dated September 21, 2016 from the Department of Legal Affairs of the Netherlands Military Intelligence Service (MIVD) addressed to the state prosecutor’s office, according to which the MIVD checked if the complexes could Beech “to be involved in the crash of MH17.
So, the text refers to 11 points where in June and July 2014, when the tragedy occurred, the Ukrainian Buk missile systems (eight locations) and the Russian (three locations) were located. According to intelligence, all 11 complexes were at least 66 kilometers from the crash site, and three identified Russian complexes were in Russia.
“Based on the data in the table, it becomes obvious that the MH17 flight flew out of reach of all Ukrainian and Russian points where the Buk complexes were deployed,” the letter says.
According to van der Werff, the fact that the Dutch military “possess detailed information on the positions of the Russian Buk mobile systems (which are not located at the main bases) is striking, while the majority of Ukrainian Bukovs are indicated on their stationary positions at military bases. “
Further, the author asks whether it can be argued that Kiev kept the “Buki” at the bases and never during the operation in the Donbass did not move its air defense systems.
“How likely is this, given the fact that on July 12, 2014 (a few days before the plane crashed. – Ed.), The Ukrainian air defense forces were put on full alert?” – the journalist writes.
In addition, Van der Werff notes, a document addressed to the prosecutor’s office said: “In view of the location of the identified systems and the speed with which they can be moved, <…> it is unlikely that the Buk-M1 missile system owned by the Ukrainian Armed Forces forces, could be moved at such a time so that flight MH17 fell into the zone of its destruction. “
The letter further states that the intelligence “examined other ground-based air defense systems present in the region in July 2014 and which, in terms of operational deployability, technical specifications and location, could have shot down the MH17 aircraft.” According to the document, we are talking about Ukrainian air defense systems S-300PS Volkhov M-6, as well as the S-300PM2 Favorit system, which is in service with Russia.
Regarding this, the journalist quotes the following from the letter: “All identified Ukrainian S-300PS Volkhov-M6 were at a distance of at least 250 kilometers from the point of impact of MH17. The S-300PS Volkhov-M6 system has a maximum range of 75 kilometers. Based on this, the MIVD concludes that the Volkhov-M6 S-300PS system was not used to bring down the MH17. “
The document further notes that the only identified complex “having a wide enough range” to bring down this aircraft is two S-300PM2 Favorit systems of the Russian Armed Forces, located near Rostov-on-Don.
“The MIVD has information (from partners) that would indicate the use of the 36N8 fire control radar <…> to direct and / or launch a ground-to-air missile from the 48NS series on July 17, 2014. <…> These places are in close proximity to large settlements, and the launch of the rocket would most likely lead to messages on social networks or other media. MIVD is not aware of such publications, “the journalist quotes the text of the letter.
Van der Werff himself, analyzing the above facts, concludes that the “Military Intelligence and Security Service of the Netherlands on September 21, 2016 (a week before the press conference of the investigative group) did not receive information from any reliable source that any Russian the Buk-M1 complex crossed the border with Ukraine during the conflict. “
“This brings us back to the question that we asked at the beginning of this article: was the MH17 investigation conducted properly …? Based on the analysis I have done over the years, I have doubts, and the content of the new information from these four documents only reinforces my doubts,” concluded Van der Werff.