Our editors will review what you’ve submitted and determine whether to revise the article Snizhne is also in the centre of a rich agricultural area with numerous farms that produce cereal grains as well as cattle Each week, Roads & Kingdoms and Slate publish a new dispatch from around the globe. For more foreign correspondence mixed with food, war, travel, and photography, visit their online magazine or follow @roadskingdoms on Twitter But when illegal mines like the one in Snizhne collapse mines are closed—and they become another secret mass grave deep in the woods It was almost as if I couldn’t breathe,” Golovko recalls six years later When he first arrived at the tiny mine in the woods of Snizhne said they were 16 and that they were happy to work several days of the week and I wanted money for my family,” he recalls When we ask him what his parents thought of his new job he simply answers: “They have always valued hard work.” Snizhne is a town that has followed the Ukrainian coal industry’s economic roller coaster the Soviet housing blocks look empty and the streetlights remain dark during the night But Lenin still stands proud on the main square; pro-Russian rebels took control of Snizhne after war broke out in the spring of 2014 The big state-owned mines and the illegal operations in the woods have existed side by side here for decades provide social benefits and allow strong unions but the inexperienced teens who work there are paid twice as much which go hand in hand with the business of illegal coal mining Through the Russian social media platform VKontakte we asked owners of the homemade mines to show us their newly legalized enterprise a 6-foot-tall and 3-foot-wide giant of a man with hands like a bear “These are a worker’s hands!” He pulls us into his car and squeezes us between him and the driver when coal was the cornerstone of the economy Belois was a miner in various state-owned mines in Snizhne Records show that Ukraine produced 216 million tons of it in 1975 Those numbers have halved since the outbreak of the war Four mines have closed in Snizhne and thousands of jobs have been lost as a consequence it became difficult to get the products over the front line “The mayor gathered us and said that it was time to open the mines He paid 40,000 rubles ($600) for a small piece of land in the woods and promised the rebels he would pay a 2.5 percent tax on his revenue the owners of illegal mines would pay the same amount of money in bribes to police officers “Legalizing the mines was a good move,” he says “The money that once bribed policemen now goes to the state safety is better regulated.” He throws his arms wide to underscore that he operates a legal business he’s going to Donetsk later today to pay what the rebels call an “environmental tax.” The jeep carries us just a few kilometers into the woods where four miners work in the 26-foot-deep mine a dirty bucket that carries coal and miners alike and a truck that transports coal to the market: This is all he needs to extract 110 tons of coal every month Belois sells his coal for slightly more than $23 per ton giving him a monthly revenue of about $2,500 Belois says he has no idea what happens to his coal after it is sold on the market But considering that more than half of Ukraine’s power plants need anthracite to operate and that all the coal mines producing it are located on occupied soil there’s a good chance it ends up on the other side of the frontier This would mean that the Ukrainian government is purchasing coal from the very rebels they are fighting “We export 90 percent of our coal to Ukraine,” confirms Nikolai Branislavovitsh Olshevsky the technical director of the mines in Snizhne denying that the mines in the woods are part of that industry spokesman for Ukraine’s Coal and Energy Department explains in an email that they need coal from the rebels in order to provide energy to its citizens “We also believe that we support the citizens of Ukraine in the terrorist-controlled areas by providing jobs,” he justifies underlining that the trade takes place in an organized manner with a few selective mining companies that are officially registered on Ukrainian soil and use a Ukrainian banking system However, the industry has a history of whitewashing: mixing coal from the illegal mines with what they extract from the state-owned enterprises. The practice drastically lowers production costs at the expense of the safety of the workers. According to the investigative journalist Denis Kazansky, the output of whitewashed coal was $700 million in 2012 who has worked in the illegal mines since he was 14 doesn’t consider himself a victim of that system He says he’s happy to have a job that pays reasonably well “She didn’t let me go to war,” says Golovko The sun is setting over the treetops as Golovko returns from his shift shoveling coal and sending a sled down into the darkness A few kilometers away from the city center we enter the underground world of the state-owned mine Zaira “There are stories of a ghost of a miner haunting this place and now he hammers on the walls for revenge,” whispers Mikhail Ivanov We can barely see him in the glare of his headlight even though the elevator has hundreds of meters to go before reaching its final destination The oxygen masks hang heavy on our shoulders Ivanov works six hours a day without breaks miners were privileged in Eastern Ukrainian society and the state-owned mines were rewarded with large amounts of subsidies that made up for the fact that one Ukrainian worker is five times less efficient than a Polish miner Ivanov places a bottle of vodka on the table He could facilitate a lucrative job in the mines people here get jobs by having connections,” says Tatyana and traveled to Crimea and Moscow on holidays They treated themselves to fine cheeses and a new fridge But recent inflation means that Mikhail Ivanov earns much less these days likely fired by rebel-controlled territory but Ivanov thinks the Ukrainian military was responsible Snizhne was heavily shelled by the Ukrainian army One of whom was a 5-year-old boy,” he says and gotten strict orders from the People’s Republic “If anything were to happen to foreign journalists I would never send you to a place where I wouldn’t venture myself … I would never send my friends down there.” We ask him what is more dangerous: being a soldier in the war or a worker in the mines Eliot Higgins is the founder of Bellingcat and the Brown Moses Blog Eliot focuses on the weapons used in the conflict in Syria and open source investigation tools and techniques Shortly after reports of flight MH17 being shot down in Ukraine began emerging, the following video was posted online, claiming to show a Buk missile launcher travelling through Snizhne, a rebel held town near the Russian border The original video was quickly deleted from YouTube for unknown reasons, but one lesson to learn earlier on with any video of interest is to immediately download it.  A variety tools are available to do this, including Keepvid The road appeared to share the same layout and had the slight turn visible in the video it seemed the camera would have to be north of the road  It was clear the camera was positioned much higher than the buildings to the south suggesting it was either on a hill or on top of a tall building I used the ground-level view option in Google Earth It seemed the only hills in the area were far in the distance and by examining the map I was able to see apartment buildings to the north of the road Based on that I now had the approximate position of the camera and I was able to identify other features I would expect to see from that vantage point three trees positioned to the north of the bend in the road South of the bend it’s possible to identify two junctions on the road with one tree visible between the junction on both the video and map  At point 3 the red roof of a house is also visible in both the video and satellite map Based on this information it seems likely that this is the correct location of what’s claimed to by the Buk missile launcher  Based on initial information about the location of the crash site it appears this location was around 10-15km of the crash site Please enable JS and disable any ad blocker Ukraine - It was lunchtime when a tracked launcher with four SA-11 surface-to-air missiles rolled into town and parked on Karapetyan Street passengers were checking in for Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 It had been a noisy day in this eastern Ukrainian town Plenty of military equipment was moving through But still it was hard to miss the bulky missile system It left deep tread marks in the asphalt as it rumbled by in a small convoy The vehicles stopped in front of journalists from The Associated Press speaking with a distinctive Russian accent destination unknown in the heart of eastern Ukraine's pro-Russia rebellion people six miles west of Snizhne heard loud noises And then they saw pieces of twisted metal - and bodies - fall from the sky The rebel leadership in Donetsk has repeatedly and publicly denied any responsibility for the downing of Flight 17 a spokesman for rebel leader Alexander Borodai repeated to the AP on Friday that no rebel units had weapons capable of shooting that high and said any suggestions to the contrary are part of an information war aimed at undermining the insurgents' cause the denials are increasingly challenged by accounts of residents the observations of journalists on the ground The Ukrainian government has also provided purported communications intercepts that it says show rebel involvement in the shoot-down He said a unit based in the hometown of ousted President Viktor Yanukovych was involved in the firing of an SA-11 from near Snizhne who has direct access to the inner circle of the insurgent leadership in Donetsk said that he could not be named because he was contradicting the rebels' official line The rebels believed they were targeting a Ukrainian military plane they hit the passenger jet flying from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur Intercepted phone conversations released by the Ukrainian government appear to back up the contention they were unaware the aircraft was a passenger jet the first rebels to reach the scene can be heard swearing when they see the number of bodies and the insignia of Malaysia Airlines Ukraine immediately blamed the rebels for the shooting gave the AP the government's version of the events of July 17 He said the account was based on information from intercepts Nayda laid the blame fully on Russia: He said the missile launcher came from Russia and was operated by Russians The Russian Foreign Ministry on Friday declined to comment on either charge Moscow has continually denied involvement in the downing of the plane The rebel official who spoke to AP did not address the question of any Russian government involvement in the attack officials have blamed Russia for creating the "conditions" for the downing of the plane but have offered no evidence that the missile came from Russia or that Russia directly was involved on July 17 the launcher rolled into Ukraine across the Russian border aboard a flatbed truck He cited communications intercepts that he would not share with the AP the main rebel stronghold 125 miles from the border In Donetsk it is presumed to have been off-loaded from the flatbed and started to move in a convoy on its own Nayda said the Buk turned back east toward Snizhne Townspeople who spoke to the AP said it rolled into Snizhne around lunchtime "On that day there was a lot of military equipment moving about in town," recalled Tatyana Germash pointed out the spot where he saw the missile launcher "The Buk was parked on Karapetyan Street at midday but later it left; I don't know where," he said "Look - it even left marks on the asphalt." the AP had reported on the presence of the missile launcher in the town July 17 Here is what that dispatch said: "An Associated Press reporter on Thursday saw seven rebel-owned tanks parked at a gas station outside the eastern Ukrainian town of Snizhne which can fire missiles up to an altitude of 22,000 meters (72,000 feet)." AP journalists saw the Buk moving through town at 1:05 p.m which carried four 18-foot (5.5-meter) missiles A man in sand-colored camouflage without identifying insignia - different from the green camouflage the rebels normally wear - approached the journalists The man wanted to make sure they had not recorded any images of the missile launcher according to a recording from an intercepted phone call that has been released by Ukraine's government the Buk's crew snapped to attention when a spotter called in a report of an incoming airplane "A bird is flying to you," the spotter tells the rebel identified by the Ukrainians as Igor Bezler an insurgent commander who the Ukrainian government asserts is also a Russian intelligence officer The man identified as Bezler responds: "Reconnaissance plane or a big one?" The rebel official who spoke to the AP about the incident said that Bezler commanded another fighter who was the ranking rebel officer with the missile launcher at the time about half of which was made up of men from far eastern Russia many from the island of Sakhalin off Russia's Pacific coast Sapper is from the nearby town of Yenakiieve The town also happens to be the home of the former president Sapper could not be reached for comment; his real identity is not known denied any connection to the attack on the plane "I did not shoot down the Malaysia Airlines plane I did not have the physical capabilities to do so," he declared According to the account of the rebel official Sapper had been sent that day to inspect three checkpoints - in the towns of Debaltsevo all of which are within a 20-mile (30-kilometer) radius of where the plane went down he joined up with the convoy accompanying the missile launch system there was another discharge," said Rostislav Grishin "I raised my head and within a minute I could see a plane falling through the clouds." in another intercepted call released by Ukraine the man identified as Bezler tells his own superior that the unit had shot down a plane It went down beyond Yenakiieve," the man says While the authenticity of the intercept cannot be verified independently Embassy in Kiev said specialists in the intelligence community have deemed it authentic intelligence suggests it went back on the move shortly after the attack Welcome Mickeymickey@disney.comManage MyDisney AccountLog OutDutch Safety Board: Buk missile downed MH17 in UkraineTuesday 2015A Dutch Military Policeman stands guard next to a part of the reconstructed forward section of the fuselage of Malaysian Airlines Flight 17AP Photo/Peter Dejong-APTHE HAGUE Netherlands -- Malaysia Airlines flight 17 was destroyed by a Buk surface-to-air missile over eastern Ukraine the Dutch Safety Board said Tuesday as it presented the results of an official probe into the crash trying to clear Russia-backed separatists who controlled the area or Russia of any involvement in the crash on July 17 that killed all 298 people aboard the plane The Dutch investigators said the missile exploded less than a meter (yard) from the MH17 cockpit killing three crew in the cockpit and breaking off the front of the plane The aircraft broke up in the air and crashed over a large area controlled by rebel separatists who had been fighting government troops there since April 2014 The board said the plane should never have been flying there as Ukraine should have closed its airspace to civil aviation adding that nobody gave a thought to the dangers to passenger planes The investigators unveiled a ghostly reconstruction of the forward section of MH17 cockpit and business class of the Boeing 777 were rebuilt from fragments of the aircraft recovered from the crash scene and flown to Gilze-Rijen air base in southern Netherlands Ukraine and Western countries contend the airliner was downed by a missile fired by Russia-backed rebels or Russian forces the Russian state-controlled Almaz-Antey arms-maker contended on Tuesday a draft of the Dutch report found the plane was shot down by a Buk missile warhead Almaz-Antey says it conducted two experiments -- in one of which a Buk missile was detonated near the nose of an airplane similar to a 777 -- that contradict that conclusion The experimental aircraft's remains showed a much different submunitions damage pattern than seen on the remnants of MH17 The experiments also refute what it said was the Dutch version An Associated Press reporter saw a Buk missile system in that vicinity on the same day "We have proven with our experiments that the theory about the missile flying from Snizhne is false," Almaz-Antey's director general Yan Novikov told a news conference at a sprawling high-tech convention center in Moscow Almaz-Antey in June had said that a preliminary investigation suggested that the plane was downed by a model of Buk that is no longer in service with the Russian military but that was part of the Ukrainian military arsenal in which a missile was fired at aluminum sheets mimicking an airliner's fuselage Novikov said evidence shows that if the plane was hit by a Buk it was fired from the village of Zaroshenske which Russia says was under Ukrainian government control at the time official told The Associated Press that the draft report said the plane was destroyed by a Buk surface-to-air missile fired from the village of Snizhne; the official who was not authorized to comment publicly including an investigation by the open-source group Bellingcat also suggest the plane was downed by a missile fired from near Snizhne Analysis of videos and photos posted on social media sites on the day the plane was brought down show a mobile Buk anti-aircraft missile launcher in the town of Torez about six miles south of the farmland where the wreckage is scattered Washington said that one of its satellites had detected a missile launch from the vicinity of those towns at the time the Boeing 777 was brought down Eliot Higgins, a video and photographic analyst, published the pictures on his investigative journalism website Bellingcat "The guy who uploaded one of the videos deleted the video and his accounts a few hours after the plane came down," Higgins said "There is a cluster of two videos and two photos we have analysed that show a Buk missile-launcher in Torez and then about an hour and half later in Snizhne." Higgins said that the pictures were not clear enough to be sure whether the mobile launcher in Snizhne was the same as the one in Torez Ukraine Missile Site WEB210714The Ukrainian interior ministry also released a short video that appeared to show a Buk launcher with at least one missile missing being transported along a road on a trailer, claiming the weapon was being driven across the border into Russia The video analysis confirms an earlier Associated Press report that one of its journalists spotted a Buk-like launcher in an area of eastern Ukrainian controlled by separatists contradicting claims by rebel leaders not to have such missiles The Buk, known to the US military as an SA-11 Gadfly, can reach targets up to altitudes of 46,000 feet. MH17 was flying at 33,000 feet en route from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur Both the Ukrainian and Russian armed forces possess the launchers which work alongside a separate mobile radar and a command vehicle Experts say its target-acquisition technology is good enough to spot aircraft but not to differentiate between civilian and military planes The US state department on Sunday published its most detailed version of the attack on the Malaysian airliner "At the time that flight MH17 dropped out of contact we detected a surface-to-air missile launch from a separatist-controlled area in southeastern Ukraine "We believe this missile was an SA-11," a statement from the US embassy in Kiev said adding that the launch was in the area of Torez and Snizhne "Intercepts of separatist communications posted on YouTube by the Ukrainian government indicate the separatists were in possession of a SA-11 system as early as Monday July 14th the separatists made repeated references to having and repositioning Buk (SA-11) systems." The embassy statement also said that US intelligence audio analysts believed the intercepts of rebel commanders discussing the shooting down of the plane were genuine It claimed that over the weekend of 12-13 July Russia sent a convoy of military equipment with up to 150 vehicles and multiple rocket launchers to the separatists The statement also said Russia was training separatist fighters in south-west Russia said that Buk missile launchers were seen crossing into Russia from eastern Ukraine on Friday morning A definitive investigation was still being prevented on Sunday by eastern separatist groups imposing access restrictions The rebels were removing bodies and the Ukrainian government accused them of sanitising the scene of evidence A team of six investigators from Britain's Air Accidents Investigation Branch was sent to Ukraine soon after the disaster to take part in an international enquiry but a spokeswoman from the AAIB said: "They are still in Kiev while the format for an investigation is being established." She declined to go into further detail but it is believed that the investigators have not gone to the crash site Senior figures in the air accident investigation community have said that the crash site is becoming increasingly contaminated hindering the chances of a full independent inquiry said: "It's absolutely crucial to seal of any crash site because it's similar to the scene of a crime and you don't want any contamination The reason the site needs not to be disturbed is because if you accidentally shot down a Malaysian Airlines plane the first you would do is find the record casing [from the aircraft] and disappear it." The Bellingcat Investigation Team is an award winning group of volunteers and full time investigators who make up the core of the Bellingcat's investigative efforts This report (which can be found in its entirety here) analyzes in detail one aspect of the downing of Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 (MH17) by a Buk missile system in eastern Ukraine: the plausibility that Zaroshchens’ke was the launch site the Russian Ministry of Defense (MoD) claimed in a press briefing on 21 July 2014 that Ukrainian Buk M1 TELARs (transporter erector launcher and radar) were positioned in an area south of Zaroshchens’ke The Russian MoD supported this assertion with a satellite picture of the area showing the vehicles While it was not explicitly stated that a missile was fired from this position in the briefing the information is persistently interpreted as evidence of possible Ukrainian involvement in the downing of MH17 a larger area south of Zaroshchens’ke that included the Russian MoD’s Buk position was claimed to be the launch site of the Buk M1 missile that downed MH17 the successor company of the original Buk M1 producer Almaz-Antey’s analysis uses publicly available pictures of the wreckage of MH17 and is primarily based on a calculation of the missile’s last position using the impact direction of the warhead fragments Almaz-Antey claimed that this method allowed them to identify the possible launch site using the trajectory profiles of the particular missile used This report assesses the validity of both the Russian MoD’s and Almaz-Antey’s claims using open-source information the analysis utilizes maps showing the situation in eastern Ukraine and Google Earth satellite imagery The satellite imagery is used to identify with varying degrees of certainty the locations of military positions in the area surrounding the alleged launch site This information is then used to reconstruct the area under control on 17 July 2014 This report also draws upon various press reports from the area Based on this report’s analysis of the aforementioned information It is also possible to assess the likelihood of a missile launch from the area south of Zaroshchens’ke on 17 July 2014 While it is not possible to reject that claim completely This assessment also provides additional evidence that the Russian MoD misinformed the general public in their 21 July 2014 briefing The satellite image presented that claimed to show Ukrainian Buk M1 TELARs south of Zaroshchens’ke must be either a fabrication or a deliberately misinterpreted satellite photo meant to mislead or confuse the public The full report is available in English, German, and in Russian During day two of the MH17 criminal court proceedings in the Netherlands the prosecution team disclosed that the Russian Federation had challenged the authenticity of a video recording of the BUK Telar This video is a crucial piece in the chain of evidence showing the contiguous movement of the BUK Telar convoy from its permanent base in Kursk Based on the information from the Dutch prosecutor Russia made this claim in its written defense in the legal case of MH17 victims’ next of kin vs which is ongoing in parallel at the European Court of Human Rights This disclosure can be heard in the video below the Russian Federation argued to the ECHR that the video showing the Russian BUK Telar near the launch site which was posted on YouTube on 17 July 2014 Russia claims that an analysis of the metadata of the uploaded video file shows that its creation date was 16 July 2014 Russia went on to argue that the video pre-dated the shoot-down and therefore could not have shown the BUK Telar that caused the downing “The Russian Federation’s written statement in the ECHR proceedings claims that a YouTube version of the video of the TELAR in Snizhne gives 16 July 2014 as its ‘encoded date’ one day before the downing of flight MH17 and the making of the other images of the TELAR The Russian Federation argues that the encoded date can never be earlier than the date on which the video is actually uploaded and consequently the video must already have been uploaded on 16 July 2014.” Russia’s claim is based on its analysis of an undefined YouTube posting of the video in question and not of the original file (whether the JIT has managed to obtain the original file remains unclear) Thus Russia’s claims relate to a secondary copy of the file but given that Russia asserts that the secondary copy contains markers that pre-date the shoot-down While the original YouTube upload that appears to be the focus of Russia’s non-authenticity claim is no longer available Russia’s assertion that its metadata had a time-stamp from an earlier date is not only plausible but unavoidably true because at the time of the video’s uploading in 2014 a glitch in an open-source video format conversion algorithm used by Google structurally caused videos to be uploaded with a timestamp preceding the actual upload time by approximately 24 hours all videos uploaded to YouTube on 17 July 2014 carried a metadata timestamp of 16 July 2014 blogged about this same bug one day after the shoot-down of MH17 when a number of Russian conspiracy websites had claimed that the telephone intercepts published by Ukraine’s security service were fake citing the post-dating clues gleaned from metadata on YouTube videos Christo recorded and uploaded to YouTube a short test video The screenshot from YouTube’s Video Manager tool can be seen below Screenshot from YouTube’s Video Manager he downloaded that same video from YouTube and ran a metadata analysis tool (ffprobe.exe) on it It showed a file creation date at 10:55 on 17 July 2014 That implied that the file had been created on the day prior to the actual recording and uploading Screenshot from the metadata analysis of downloaded file performed with Ffprobe.exe The rather technical explanation boils down to the mundane fact that the prevalent video format used by YouTube (Mpeg-4 or mp4) was originally proprietary to Apple its metadata container has a timestamp field that measures “time” as the number of seconds passed since 1 January 1904 the start of the so called Macintosh Epoch all modern servers use a different “epoch” to measure time the number of seconds elapsed since 1 January 1970 in order to embed the correct timestamp into an mp4 file a well-coded server must (1) obtain the Unix timestamp (2) add the difference between the Unix and Macintosh Epochs and (3) embed the sum of 1 and 2 into the mp4 timestamp field Most computer code that converts raw video into the mp4 format uses a set of open-source reference libraries, available here. These libraries contain a constant number for the difference between the Unix and Macintosh Epochs equal to 2082758400 (search for this number in the library’s source code) a proper computation of the difference in seconds between 1 January 1904 and 1 January 1970 gives us a number of 2082844800 The difference between this correct number and the reference library (incorrect) number is exactly 86400 seconds which Google fixed in 2019 by re-encoding all its videos without applying buggy ISO/IEC 14496-5 standard libraries plus the time-zone differences between users’ PCs and the YouTube servers explains away the complete “post-dated conspiracy” which Russia has used on and off since 2014 to discredit the investigation into MH17 What remains without explanation is why the Russian Federation would submit a formal defense statement to the European Court of Human Rights without the most basic of due diligence into its validity and into the probity of its arguments Daniel Romein is an IT-specialist and started in 2014 as open source investigator focused on the MH17 case and the conflict in Ukraine Co-winner of the 2019 European Press Prize (Investigative Reporting Award) In a previous investigation related to the 17 July 2014 downing of Malaysian Airlines Flight 17 (MH17) in eastern Ukraine the Bellingcat investigation team provided the origin and movements of a Buk M1 missile launcher filmed and photographed that same day that travelled from Donetsk past Zuhres the Buk M1 missile launcher was transported on a red low-loader hauled by a white Volvo truck featuring a telephone number and unique blue stripes the Buk was unloaded off the hauler and driven south out of Snizhne under its own power In the early hours of 18 July 2014 the missile launcher was spotted in Luhansk where it was again being hauled by the same white Volvo truck The location of the Buk between its last sighting in Snizhne and its appearance in Luhansk the following morning is a vital question that will shed light on the culprits and circumstances of the MH17 tragedy This report will consider four vital clues that allow us to estimate the launch location for the missile that downed MH17: 1) photographs of a white smoke trail taken a few moments after the crash of flight MH17 2) visible burn damage to a wheat field that appeared between 16 and 20 July 2014 3) audio recordings reportedly from 17 July 2014 and 4) a US intelligence satellite image from 22 July 2014 a photograph that showed a vertical white smoke trail and a smaller grey smoke patch to the left of the white smoke trail was posted on Twitter by someone who claimed that this photograph depicted the launch site of the Buk launcher that downed MH17 a number of bloggers geolocated features in the image including the approximate location of the photographer and an approximate origin point of the white smoke trail the photographer provided additional photographs and a Dutch news outlet enlisted the help of outside research experts to review the pictures Google updated its satellite imagery to include images of Snizhne and Torez revealing suspicious tracks in wheat fields and a part of what seemed to be a burned wheat field with scorched earth south of Snizhne US intelligence officials published a blurry black and white satellite image with the flight paths of both MH17 and the Buk M1 missile that downed the passenger plane Because of the relative low quality of the image many were disappointed by the declassified intelligence it turned out to be far more informative than first thought conversations in Snizhne and Torez over the smartphone app Zello recorded at the time of the downing of MH17 were posted on YouTube One conversation was of a woman recounting that she saw a missile flying overhead while she was in a garden and describing the direction of the missile tapped phone conversations on 17 July 2014 between pro-Russian separatists published by the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) provided information about the destination of the Buk missile launcher on 17 July 2014 this report concludes that the likely missile launch location was in a burned wheat field south of Snizhne The Separatists’ Buk Missile Launcher in Snizhne so it is possible that the Buk intended to provide anti-air support in the area This may shed some light on the second question as the Buk must be unloaded from the truck in order to fire its missile Map of the area south of Snizhne on Google Maps with the conflict area in a green circle the location of the picture of a Buk M1 missile launcher in a small red circle and the location of the video of a Buk M1 missile launcher in a small blue circle To our knowledge, no other pictures or videos have been made of the Buk M1 missile launcher in this area, and only one other video was posted on YouTube on 18 July 2014 of the missile launcher being hauled again by the white Volvo truck in Luhansk July 2014 photographs of the white smoke trail Just three hours after the crash of MH17, a picture was published on Twitter that appeared to show a ropeway on the horizon between “Lutugina” and “Tsof” in the area of Torez The image was posted at 7:23 PM local time three hours after the crash of Flight MH17 examined the white smoke trail and geolocated the photographs The anonymous photographer has given the original photographs to the official Dutch investigation of the downing of MH17 Second picture taken on 17 July 2014 from the north of Torez Considering the previous geolocation evidence there can be no doubt that the photographs that claim to show the Buk launch site from 17 July 2014 were taken from northern Torez and show the area of eastern Torez near the Lutugina mine in the direction south of Snizhne There have been many claims that the 17 July 2014 pictures are not genuine and file date show a date of 17 July 2014 and times of 16:25:41 and 16:25:48 Images in a RAW format can be edited in photo editing software and saved as a different format but this will always result in a different file date the date and time the file has been saved after editing Photo editing software is not able to save files in a RAW format because this is not a “positive” image format because pictures can only be edited by photo editing software changes to the pictures will always result in modified metadata While software capable of saving images in RAW format does exist it is usually the software of the camera itself and cannot edit images because images in a RAW format first have to be converted to an editable image format (e.g the modified date of the metadata will be changed Based on the metadata of the RAW files we received we can be completely certain that these files are the original files and that the pictures were taken on 17 July 2014 at 16:25:41 EEST and 16:25:48 EEST according to the date and time set in the camera Though it is possible to set the camera itself to a different date and time when we take into account that the first picture was released two hours after the crash the only scenario where what we see on the pictures is not the launch of the Buk missile that was seen above eastern Torez on 17 July 2014 is that the photographer took a picture of a missile launch on a previous date and his camera date and time was inadvertently set to 17 July 2014 at 16:25 EEST Full-sized, uncompressed copies of the original RAW files can be found here With the smoke photographs geolocated, it was then possible to establish where the smoke was originating from. Early attempts by the person who tweeted the original photograph and the Ukraine@War blog pointed to fields to the south of Snizhne where the Buk filmed heading out of Snizhne would have had easy access The following image was created based on Bellingcat’s own geolocation and analysis of the photograph and closely matches the work done previously on Ukraine@War: View lines of the first picture of 17 July 2014 with the view frame (blue lines) the view lines of the white smoke trail (red lines) and the view lines of the smaller grey smoke trail (brown lines) Oliphant discovered one field where a corner had been burnt over a wide area. He took a number of photographs, which were subsequently used by the Ukraine@War blog to geolocate the exact location of the field This geolocation has been reviewed and confirmed by the Bellingcat investigation team and shows a field just south of where the tracks were visible on the 20 July 2014 satellite map imagery Part of a wheat field where scorched earth and burned wheat was seen by Roland Oliphant of the Telegraph from 15 August 2014 satellite image the partly burnt  and ploughed area of the field has been highlighted in yellow and is in line with where the grey smoke was visible on the photographs of the smoke trail Shortly after the downing of Malaysian Airlines Flight 17 (MH17) on July 17th, an audio clip was shared on social media sites claiming to be a recording of civilians near the town of Snizhne discussing the crash on the audio chat application Zello. Zello is a popular service in separatist areas and this particular recording purports to capture what would be a key discussion about events on July 17th The individuals in the video describe both an “upward” missile launch and the crash of MH17 While it is difficult to independently verify the authenticity of the audio it is possible to compare what is described in the audio with other evidence about the downing of MH17 including the launch location of the missile The woman claims that the loud noise of the launch caused her to seek shelter in the basement of her home with her mother This would seem to indicate the missile was launched relatively close to her house With some uncertainty, she goes on to describe the direction she believes the missile was launched from, namely, Saurivka On 18 July, the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) published another audio recording relevant to identifying the missile launch location we first hear separatists talking about a Buk M1 surface-to-air missile system and later that the Buk is in Donetsk We then hear that the Buk was unloaded somewhere and driving under its own power and that the Buk has to be delivered to an area nearby called “Pervomaiskoe.” A search for this location yielded a “Pervomaiske” near Donetsk a “Pervomaiskyi” to the southeast of Snizhne and another village north of Snizhne called “Pervomaiske.” The image below shows the locations mentioned in the audio recordings in relation to the suspected launch site visited by Roland Oliphant: On July 22nd, 2014, US intelligence officials published a black and white satellite map image showing what they claimed to be the path of the Buk missile that downed MH17 Although the map marks Snizhne as the launch site of the missile the exact location of the site was not immediately clear due to the quality of the image While the quality of the declassified satellite map image is relatively poor it is nonetheless possible to find the approximate launch site indicated on the map Certain large geographical features are visible on the satellite map image and by examining Google Earth satellite map imagery it is possible to find these same features there is a curved lake and two areas of forest northeast of the location identified as the launch site: there are a series of small lakes running north to south which match perfectly with what is visible on both sets of satellite map imagery: including an oddly shaped field just south of the launch location: The oddly shaped field is a just to the south of the village Chervonyi Zhovten which is north of the Savur-Mohila monument in Saurivka and slightly west of Stepanivka Due to the width of the line and the resolution of the US satellite map imagery it is not possible to find the exact location the line originates from but it appears that it would be very close to the area where the lines below intersect the line comes very close to originating from the suspected launch site: it seems clear there are a number of pieces of evidence pointing toward one specific location south of Snizhne Photographs published online two hours after MH17 was shot down point directly to an area that is clearly visible on satellite map imagery showing a field that was unburnt on 16 July 2014 but visibly burnt only a few days after that date a Buk missile launcher was filmed only a few kilometres to the north of this site heading south in the direction of the location we have identified US intelligence also points to the same field these pieces of evidence are not particularly compelling they provide strong support for the assertion that the missile that downed MH17 originated from the potential launch site we have identified Interim report could pinpoint location of missile launcher widely considered to be in Russian-backed separatist territory What is happening?An international team investigating the downing of Malaysia Airlines flight MH17 over Ukraine in 2014 will release its preliminary conclusions on Wednesday The “interim results” of the criminal investigation might unveil new details on the strike and could even provide strong evidence suggesting who is to blame The joint investigation team (JIT) is backed by a United Nations security council resolution to establish who is responsible for the killing of 298 people on board the flight The inquiry consists of police and judicial authorities who it says are working to gather “the best possible evidence that will be upheld in every court A report released in June by the same body published a photo of a large Russian-made Buk missile component found at the crash site in eastern Ukraine The west and Ukraine say Russia-backed rebels shot down MH17 Last year, a separate Dutch Safety Board report also concluded that MH17 was downed by a Buk that report made clear its findings would not deal with blame crashed at the peak of the conflict between Ukrainian forces and pro-Russia separatists The missile exploded on the left-hand side of the cockpit, releasing thousands of metal fragments, with hundreds then penetrating the plane with tremendous force An independent British-based investigative team said in February it could link Russian soldiers to the Buk that downed MH17. The Bellingcat report said it was likely the 2nd battalion of Russia’s 53rd anti-aircraft missile brigade shot down the jet Photo taken on 26 July 2014 shows flowers and a teddy bear left by parents of an Australian victim of the crash laid on a piece of the Malaysia Airlines plane MH17 Photograph: Bulent Kilic/AFP/Getty ImagesWhat do we expect to find out from this report?By pinpointing the launch site the JIT will provide evidence on which group may have launched the missile Diplomatic sources have told the Guardian that the investigators will give a precise Google location showing that the Buk was located in separatist-controlled territory has said: “If this is in separatist-controlled territory it will be very hard for anyone to deny separatist involvement As we also have pointed to the specific Russia brigade that we believe sent the Buk that shot down MH17 to Ukraine If the JIT finds the missile was launched in a part of Ukraine controlled by Russia-backed separatists the report will drastically increase pressure on Moscow Several states have expressed a desire for justice The JIT includes members of the Australian federal police and 38 Australian citizens or permanent residents were on MH17 when it went down The majority of the passengers came from the Netherlands “The countries remain fully committed to take effective measures to hold those who are responsible to account There must be justice for the families and loved ones of those killed on MH17,” the JIT said last week Russia and the rebels have consistently denied any role in downing the passenger jet After the JIT attempted to set up an international tribunal to prosecute and punish anyone found responsible the move was swiftly vetoed by Russia at the UN in July In what appears to be a specifically timed effort to discredit any JIT findings Russia’s defence ministry on Monday released what it said were radar images showing that no missile fired from rebel-held territory could have hit the plane Following the tragedy, the European Union slapped tougher sanctions on Russia The conflict in Ukraine has claimed 9,600 lives Over the last two weeks I’ve documented the various open source information that has revealed key pieces of information about the Buk Missile Launcher linked to the downing of flight MH17 I believe it’s possible to construct a timeline of events on the ground in Ukraine on July 17th that can be evidenced using a variety of open source information lets review the photographs and videos of the Buk Missile Launcher which appear to have been taken on the day of the attack and based off the shadows visible in the photograph We also learnt from this image that the truck belonged to a rental company in the city of Donetsk claiming the truck had been stolen by pro-Russian rebels This video was exactly located to the town of Zuhres, approximately 35km east of the last sighting on Donetsk with the footage reportedly filmed at 11:40am  Note in this picture it appears to be cover in netting This photograph is the first to show the Buk dismounted from the trailer seen in previous photographs, and was taken around 1:30pm in the town of Snizhne This appears to have been filmed shortly after the above photograph was taken, showing the Buk heading south out of Snizhne around 1km away from the location of the previous photograph  Assuming the Buk didn’t stop for a break it would have taken a few minutes for the Buk to have reached the position in the video from the point it was sighted in the earlier photograph and the netting seen in the Torez video removed Based on those locations, we have a map that looks like this showing the Buk travelling east from Donetsk It’s worth noting that the roads the Buk was sighted on would have been the most direct route from Donetsk to Snizhne  Now we have the route of the Buk Missile Launcher we can also look at other information related where it was on the day The Ukraine@War blog picked up on some additional information about the Buk in Donetsk  First it identified the locations described in Tweets posted before the downing of MH17 describing a missile launcher in Donetsk waiting on the corner of an intersection around 9am from where the transporter was spotted in the west The position the Donetsk photograph published in Paris Match was taken is just before the red arrow in the centre of the map It seems based on the time and location of that photograph AP reported claims made by the Ukrainian counterterrorism chief the main rebel stronghold 125 miles (200 kilometers) from the border Following the locating of the Torez photograph, a number of journalists visited the area, speaking to locals who had seen the launcher. Buzzfeed spoke to locals who “said that the launcher had driven down Gagarina Street The Guardian also reported on sightings inside Torez prior to the Malaysia Airlines plane’s takeoff Torez would later be the town where bodies of the victims were loaded on to refrigerated train cars The tarmac on Gagarin Street is strewn with ruts made by tank treads and locals say armoured vehicles controlled by separatists driving through the town have become a regular occurrence in recent weeks “We were inside and heard a noise much louder than usual,” said one shopkeeper “We came running out and saw a jeep disappearing into the distance with something much larger in front of it customers said it had been a missile carrier.” there was talk of a convoy of two jeeps and a missile launcher covered in a net driving past in the direction of the town of Snizhne “I’ve never seen anything like it,” said a middle-aged woman She said her husband showed her a photograph of a Buk launcher afterwards and she realised that was indeed what she had seen A group of men also said they had seen a Buk AP reported on sightings of the Buk in Snizhne It was lunchtime when a tracked launcher with four SA-11 surface-to-air missiles rolled into town and parked on Karapetyan Street Karapetyan Street is visible on Yandex Maps with the position the Buk shown in the photograph from Snizhne shown below although it should be noted this was not definite proof of launch sites Based on the above information alone it seems impossible to deny that the rebels were transporting a Buk Missile Launcher through the region on the same day as the downing of flight MH17  It also demonstrates the Buk was transported from Donestsk  As yet there’s no images showing the Buk on the transporter in Snizhne but based on the apparent destination of the Buk spotted in Torez is seems reasonable to believe it was the same missile launcher and the netting seen in other locations pre-launch was spotted in the rebel held town of Luhansk and it seems reasonable to assume this was after the downing of MH17 Of course, there’s additional claims that have been made by various groups, something documented by The Interpreter in their timeline of events but based videos and photographs there’s an extremely strong case for the Buk travelling through the region on the day of the attack and I believe these should be considered facts that can act as a foundation for our understanding of the other claims and evidences pertaining to the down of the flight MH17 the Ukranian Ministry of Internal Affairs posted the following video claiming to the show the Buk Missile Launcher that has been linked by some to the downing of flight MH17 being transported to Russia It has been impossible to verify the time of location, and the launcher is missing at least one missile.  Yesterday the alleged launcher was also seen outside of Snizhne heading south What’s very interesting about this picture is it appears the launcher is loaded into the same truck shown in the video claiming to show the launcher heading to Russia  There’s several parts of the truck that match 1 – Red loading ramps slightly shorter than the height of the Buk So it seems likely this is the same vehicle but it does raise some questions about the timeline of events  If the Buk was driving out of Snizhne under it’s own power then loaded outside of town so it could be driven out the country Does this mean the launcher was positioned south of Snizhne when it fired on MH17 would it be in range of the airliner from it’s position south of the city things will become clearly as more information appears It was established that the defendant organized the economic activity of the Snizhnyansky machine-building plant of Motor Sich PJSC in the temporarily occupied territory of Ukraine in the city of Snizhne “taxes” and “customs payments” were paid in favor of the so-called “DPR” Documentation of criminal activities of the defendant is carried out by employees of the SBU under the operational support of the Department for the Protection of Public Interests and the State of the National Police of Ukraine organized the economic activities of a machine-building plant in the city of Snizhne and provided payment for the benefit of the terrorist organization “dnr” so-called “compulsory payments” controlled foreign commercial structures were used to circumvent the established legal restrictions on business relations with an enterprise located in the temporarily occupied territory Motor Sich PJSC indirectly through foreign companies supplied raw materials in the form of blanks to the Snizhnya Machine-Building Plant and received manufactured spare parts for aircraft engines produced by Motor Sich JSC the defendant was informed of the suspicion in the organization according to a preliminary conspiracy by a group of persons of providing organizational and other assistance to the activities of a terrorist organization under Part 3 of Art Procedural guidance is carried out by prosecutors of the Office of the Prosecutor General of Ukraine We use cookies to provide you with better navigation on our website you automatically agree to the use of these technologies Subscriptions It is almost five years since flight MH17 was destroyed by a BUK missile fired by Russian soldiers yet many people still think Putin’s regime did not shoot down the plane Sign up to emails Subscribe to Byline Times Malaysian Airways flight MH17 was shot down near Snizhne in Ukraine by a Buk M1 missile fired by a Russian missile unit All 298 people on board the Boeing 777 flying from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur – most of them Dutch – were killed The corpse of one victim crashed through a woman’s kitchen ceiling We know who the perpetrators were thanks to the efforts of Bellingcat and the Dutch-led joint investigation team the Malaysian Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad announced in May that there was no evidence Russia had fired the missile How has Putin created an environment in which the Malaysian Prime Minister could undermine an investigation in which his country participated Dr Mohamad’s statement misrepresented the evidence regarding Russia’s responsibility for destroying the plane had spotted the missile travelling towards Snizhne days before its deployment The missile was also filmed travelling to the launch site by a driver and screenshots from the footage were printed by Paris Match photographed the missile’s vapour trail after it had been launched The owner of the Volvo truck which had transported the footage would later confirm that the vehicle had been requisitioned by Russia’s Donbas proxies Russia’s MH17 information strategy was quite simple: flood the information space with lies deploy an army of conspiracy theorists and manage journalists by tried and tested methods phoned Russian media outlets and said “we have probably shot down a civilian aircraft” no western leader initially accused Russia of downing the plane despite these admissions Putin’s regime was able to exploit this hesitancy Lying about MH17 became one of the country’s growth industries the regime brazenly served up another tale contradicting the previous one It was aided by the internet’s ‘tin foil hat’ brigade who developed their own ‘theories’ the neutral picture of Russian aggression which emerged from most western coverage helped nullify any outrage over MH17 The relatives of the flight’s victims – currently suing internet companies such as Paypal using anti-terrorist legislation, accusing them of providing financial support to Russia – would disagree with Marson The naming of some of the culprits by the Dutch authorities and Bellingcat last year was an important step these suspects – who include Girkin – are the people who requested the missile rather than the senior politicians who authorised its use Russia’s information strategy has neutralised revulsion against its role in MH17 among senior politicians across the globe Its delegation was reinstated in the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe on 25 June 2019 ending its expulsion for annexing Crimea in 2014 It is unlikely that those who gave the orders which led to MH17 will ever face justice Byline Times is brought to you by a dedicated team of journalists and contributors – producing independent, fearless, investigative and thought-provoking journalism not found in the established media. 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AboutContactSubscriptions Complaints Byline Media Holdings Ltd, Byline Times & Yes We Work Ltd Many did not expect the JIT to provide new evidence at this event One of the most significant new materials was a previously undiscovered photograph of the Buk missile’s smoke trail that originated from a field to the south of Snizhne this photograph was found on a social network The well-known photograph of the missile trail from the day of the tragedy has been analyzed and placed under tremendous scrutiny but the appearance of a new photograph of the same scene—and at a different angle—further confirms the validity of the smoke plume photograph shared by @WowihaY on July 17 свидетель скинул фотку момента пуска ракеты.На горизонте канатная дорога между Лутугина и Цоф #Торез граница #Снежное pic.twitter.com/Z3mBtLjWfa — ХуТор ??Чистяково (@WowihaY) July 17, 2014 while the Luhansk video was of the right side This photograph from Torez is the first close-up look of the right side of Buk 332 since it was seen in Russia in late June 2014 Many of the features of Buk 332, as seen in a video in the Russian city of Stary Oskol clearly appear in the Torez photograph published by the JIT the tear in the side skirt and white marks on the side skirt and cabin are the same in the two scenes as is typically done to Russian military equipment before or immediately after transit into Ukraine considering the cabin number on the right side of the Buk (a more clearly visible “3×2”) was somewhat obscured before or immediately after transit into Ukraine despite these attempts to obscure the origin of the Buk there are still numerous features unique or rare visible on Buk 332 that can be observed in available photographs and videos After the JIT published a censored version of the Torez video we now are able to confirm that the wheels on the right side of the Buk are the same as those of Buk 332 when it was in Russia For more information on the individual features of Buk 332 that have been analyzed, see our previous report “The Lost Digit: Buk 3×2.” Working with only seven photographs and videos of Buk 332 while it was in Ukraine on July 17-18, Bellingcat was able to make a confident assertion in November 2014 that it was the same Buk that was seen in Russia three weeks earlier. Nearly two years later, every photograph and video that has emerged of the Russian 53rd Anti-Aircraft Missile Brigade’s Buk 332 in Ukraine—including the Makiivka dashcam video and the new Torez photograph—has solidified this identification the JIT published a video that many suspected to exist: a video showing the snapshots published by the French tabloid Paris Match Many open source investigators suspected that the two snapshots published by Paris Match were screenshots from a video due to the video artifacts and resolution This assertion was confirmed with a brief video showing a car driving by Buk 332 on the Volvo truck along with three vehicles in the accompanying convoy—a Volkswagen minivan Обнародовано новое видео с российским «Буком» на Макеевском Шоссе в Донецке, на котором также видны сопровождавшие его машины сепаратистов. pic.twitter.com/OdAxSiuYlz — CIT (@CITeam_ru) September 28, 2016 we now have full-resolution versions of the two Paris Match snapshots There has been seemingly endless digital ink spilled regarding the Paris Match photographs so there is no need to analyze them further here This new video did not provide many new details but the nearby convoy vehicles (the RAV4 was previously identified) further confirms the makeup of the convoy that travelled with Buk 332 on July 17 These three vehicles were seen two days prior escorting a number of military vehicles from Luhansk to Donetsk Cars visible in the new MH17 video published today by JIT match separatist cars previously ID'd by Bellingcat: https://t.co/9NH7LXAFoi pic.twitter.com/MZQ38v5BSC — CIT (en) (@CITeam_en) September 28, 2016 the JIT published previously unheard intercepted phone conversations between separatists before Buk 332 was transported across the Ukrainian border near the town of Donetsk A later, previously unheard call came in the early afternoon of July 17 with a driver in the Buk convoy (or perhaps Volvo truck) unclear about directions It seems that the driver was unfamiliar with the area and even with the town of Snizhne—one of the larger cities in the area Judging by his reaction regarding “this fucking what’s it…this fucking Snizhne,” it is fair to assume he is not a local Another call came on the same day as a press conference from Russian Buk missile manufacturer, Almaz-Antey two separatists discuss the “revelation” made by Almaz-Antey regarding the alternative launch site near Zaroshchenske While Almaz-Antey and the Russian Ministry of Defense claims that this town and the surrounding area was controlled by the Ukrainian army on July 17 and clearly indicate that the town was not under Ukrainian control and that there was no launch at that location the JIT provided information on the route of the Buk when it came from and returned to Russia The exact routes have long been unclear—the Buk was first photographed in Donetsk on the morning of July 17 and last while moving through Luhansk in the early morning of July 18 We now know that the Buk travelled through Yenakiieve on its way to Donetsk–the same route taken by a separatist convoy two days prior with the same accompanying convoy vehicles Many have questioned why the Buk was transported over a route that took much more distance than alternatives closer to the border The answer to this concern is simple: this same route was clearly used by separatists linked to Igor “Strelkov” Girkin and the Donetsk People’s Republic (DNR) two days prior to the downing of MH17 there is clear evidence that it was used at the time by the same group that provided cover to two convoys between Luhansk and Donetsk the JIT also determined that the Buk took a meandering route back to Russia The reason for this route is not immediately clear but is likely due to increased security measures and an intent to only travel through checkpoints and paths that the drivers knew would be secure at the time While many of the revelations of the September 28 press conference confirmed previous claims made on this site and from other open source investigators the bulk of the presentation confirmed the most significant claims of the November 2014 report “Origin of the Separatists’ Buk” and subsequent reports the JIT confirmed that a Russian-made Buk missile was responsible for the downing of MH17 though the JIT did not elaborate on the exact type of missile—describing it as just a 9M38 showing the reticence (either due to political or investigative reasons) of the JIT to make further specifications on the missile type at this time It is also possible that the photograph used was not perfectly representative of the missile used to down MH17 by showing Buk 332 in a variety of photographs and videos the JIT also specified the exact missile launcher that is suspected of shooting down MH17 The route and chronology of the route of Buk 332 is roughly the same as that laid out by Bellingcat in its previous reports: the Buk arrived from Russia on July 17 travelled through Luhansk before arriving in Donetsk The launch site specified by the JIT is the same described by Bellingcat in January 2015. This same launch site was previously geolocated and confirmed by blogger Ukraine@War in July 2014 The launch site was also visited by journalists Christopher Miller and Roland Oliphant shortly after the downing You can see the site of the launch on Google Maps here By visiting this same location on Google Earth you can see the changes in the field over time including satellite images from the day before the tragedy (July 16) Bellingcat has published two major investigations into the claim that Zaroshchenske was a viable launch location As confirmed in the intercepted call and the investigation of the JIT the two Bellingcat reports describe how there was not a missile launch near Zaroshchenske on July 17 and that the area was not under Ukrainian control MH17 – The Open Source Investigation, Two Years Later Origin of the Separatists’ Buk  Potential Suspects and Witnesses from the 53rd Anti-Aircraft Missile Brigade The Lost Digit: Buk 3×2 Is this the Launch Site of the Missile that Shot Down Flight MH17? MH17 In Their Own Words: Witness Testimonies on Social Media from July 17, 2014 Separatist Convoy Linked to MH17 Buk Transport Tracking the Vehicle that Transported the MH17 Buk Zaroshchens’ke Launch Site: Claims and Reality Zaroshchens’ke Revisited: Almaz-Antey’s New Launch Areas Forensic Analysis of Satellite Images Released by the Russian Ministry of Defense Volgende slideOn 17 July 2014, fifteen minutes after the Malaysia Airlines Boeing 777 takes off from the Schiphol Polder Runway, thousands of miles away a trailer with a BUK surface-to-air missile rides into the Ukrainian town of Snizhne. The two events are unrelated, and would have gone unnoticed, but not in 2014. Only a few hours later, Snizhne and the Netherlands are forever connected. Who would ever have heard of this little village had it not been for the launch of that one fatal missile? Would we ever have had the ghostly symbolism of the sunflowers in the open field imprinted in our brains? Would we ever have known what a Buk was? An hour later, MH17, carrying 298 passengers, is on its way to Kuala Lumpur as the trailer with the Buk is parked in the field south of Snizhne. The missile is to be used in the war, where Russia-backed separatists fight the Ukrainian government army. The separatists have a history of downing combat aircraft. As those aircraft fly higher and higher, heavier artillery with greater reach is needed. 160 scheduled flights fly over the battlefield at great heights that day. Too high for the day-to-day belligerence, but within reach of the new weapon that has just been delivered. Hundreds of intercepted conversations paint a detailed picture of the situation at the time, the quarrelling, the theatre of war of the moment, the raw reality of a war and of the ambition to hit the Ukrainian air force where it hurts. Do you prefer watching a video version of the reconstruction rather than reading it? Watch it here. The story will continue after the video. Based on those conversations, social media posts, and interviews with experts and people involved, Nieuwsuur has made this reconstruction. The separatists knew that their phones could be tapped, and often met in person, but when that is not possible, they talk on the phone. Several videos have been made of the transport of the noses on 15 July. Hiding behind the mysterious code names of 'noses' and 'carnations' are four tanks, three howitzers, and an armoured vehicle. Bibliotekar accompanies these transports. "I have filled up at a gas station, will bring you the receipt." Earlier that month, Pulatov had been ordered to conquer the border here. "Up to now, we have been unable to break through the defence of our adversary", says Pulatov. The Ukrainian army still controls the Russian border. Dubinsky asks him if a couple of tanks will do the trick but, according to Pulatov, "without any strict military preparations", that will be no use. In this operation around Marinovka, four men play a crucial role. The Russian Dubinsky is the coordinator. The 58-year-old Major General has earned his stripes in the battles for Afghanistan and Chechnya. "He is like water", says someone who has frequently talked to him, "a true espionage and intelligence guy". He is someone who boasts his experience and becomes edgy when someone else questions his judgment. On 16 July, Kharchenko reports that many men in his unit have been injured or killed. "We are just cannon fodder here", says Kharchenko. "It just sucks", responds Dubinsky. The Ukrainian army deploys artillery and combat aircraft to strike at the positions of the rebels in the village of Marinovka. "They are bombarding us, we are constantly under fire", reports Kharchenko late that afternoon. Dubinsky wants to know about the losses. "A lot, Nikolayevich, a lot". The separatists are not only under continuous fire from the Ukrainian army artillery, but also from the air. And they really don't have any answer to that. They have too little ammunition and the anti-aircraft weapon that they have doesn't work, says Pulatov. "All losses are due to an air raid and artillery." Dubinsky: "I'll send you three thanks, okay?" Pulatov: "And what good will that do? They'll only get burnt to the ground here. They really won't help much here." The Ukrainian air force drop their bombs from ever increasing heights - out of reach of the weaponry of the separatists. Pulatov: "The tanks won't be necessary. What we do need is long-distance artillery and good anti-aircraft material because the aircraft has operated from great heights, so practically none of our systems could reach it." The separatists do not have any defence against the artillery bombardments by the Ukrainian army either. Dubinsky is hoping for Russian support on the other side of the border: "We are now talking to you-know-whom, so that we on our end can carry out an attack," says he, and later: "Let the Russians take them down, sons of bitches." Less than an hour later, Dubinsky calls a colleague, the deputy commander of the 'Vostok' battalion: "Sanych, I'm not sure that my men can hold out there." In this conversation, Dubinsky says that there is nothing he can do against the Ukrainian combat aircraft. It would be good to have a Buk. "If I can get the Buk system early enough in the morning, I can take it there. Then it's okay. If not, I'm in the shit." This is the first time in these intercepted conversations that we hear the word 'Buk'. A Buk is an anti-aircraft weapon that can down aircraft from great heights. They are often used in combination with a radar and command vehicle to protect strategic targets, but the Buk launching facility can also independently choose a target based on a radar system, albeit a limited one. An hour later, Dubinsky tells his deputy that a Buk will, indeed, be delivered. Dubinsky: "And furthermore, I will do my best when, tonight, that ... is towed this way, the Buk-M will come your way straight away." Pulatov: "Aha, understood" Dubinsky: "Because there's nothing else we can do, just hope for a Buk." Pulatov: "Aha." Dubinsky: "Well?" Pulatov: "Yeah." A little later, Pulatov calls back to give him the first good news of the day. They have downed an SU23 Ukrainian combat aircraft, using a MANPADS, a shoulder-fired air defence system. Thirty minutes later, he corrects himself: The aircraft has not been downed by a MANPADS, but by another aircraft. Later that day, the Ukrainian army also reports their aircraft being downed by a Russian combat aircraft. A little past midnight, Dubinsky gets a call from Skiff, the commander of the Vostok battalion. He promises Dubinsky troops and tanks if he needs them: "All that I have, all my reserves, literally to the last soldier, I will deploy and send over to you." Dubinsky responds: "Well, the Buk is expected tonight. After that, all our problems should be solved." In July, Russia's military as well as its political influence increases. The separatists increasingly take orders from Moscow. Late in the evening of 4 July, Dubinsky receives a phone call. Nieuwsuur has not been able to establish who the caller is, but this man warns Dubinsky: "Today, someone from Moscow has arrived. And it looks like the whole top will be replaced. The political top, that is." Dubinsky is clearly aware of the situation. "That's correct. There has been an order involving the political top. Borodai is currently in Moscow. He has flown to Moscow." At that point, Alexander Borodai is the political leader of the self-declared republic. "This morning, they went to Moscow. As soon as they're back, we'll know what decisions have been made." A little past 9:00 a.m., Bibliotekar reports to Dubinsky by telephone. "Hi Nikolayevich, where do we deliver this beauty?" Dubinsky asks whether this is about the Buk-M. Bibliotekar confirms. It is on a trailer and the crew have arrived with it. At 9:30 a.m. Dubinsky calls his associate Pulatov, who is in the Marinovka area at that point. Dubinsky: "Krot will tow the Buk-M to you any minute now." Pulatov: "Yes, understood." Dubinsky: "You are to set it up near Pervomayskoye, that Buk-M. And Vostok will send three tanks as security." A little later, Kharchenko is ordered to take the Buk to Pervomaysk. "Set up there, and take the rest of the people with you. You are a reserve and you need to guard that thing." And, he adds, "Gyurza (Pulatov) will join you later." A minute later, he reports the status to Pulatov. They are to go to Pervomaysk to "guard the Buk". Dubinsky: "... you wait for Lonya (Kharchenko). Lonya is now sending that B-M, you understand, right?" Pulatov: "Yes." Dubinsky: "The Buk, the Buk." Pulatov: "Yes, yes, understood ( )" Dubinsky: "Understood. So, you, Lonya, and the rest look up Pervomaysk. Once you get to Pervomaysk, your job is to be reserve to guard that BUK and to organize that...., you understood, do you?" Pulatov: "Yes." At the end of the conversation, Dubinsky repeats his order one more time: "Your job is to be reserve and to guard that B. You understand me?" Around 12:45 p.m., the Buk transport reaches the town of Snizhne. On the way, they have caught up with the Vostok tanks. A few days earlier, the city was bombarded by the Ukrainian army, but it is still firmly in the hands of the rebels. Journalists of the AP press agency see the Buk in the town centre of Snizhne around 1:00 p.m. There, the Buk is unloaded from the flat-bed and then drives to Pervomaysk on its own. Now that the transport has arrived in Snizhne, Bibliotekar has other things to worry about. He calls Dubinsky because he needs a crane "that can lift 36 tonnes", because 'one' that is broken has to be taken to Krasnodon, a city on the Russian border. Around the same time, someone in Snizhne is filming the Buk driving south, in the direction of Pervomaysk, on its own. According to the JIT report, "at 2:07 p.m., Kharchenko orders Sharpov temporarily to guard 'the vehicle', and then goes to meet Gilazov (another rebel) at Furshet supermarket himself." At that point, Dubinsky is in Donetsk, on the phone talking to other commanders about operations at other locations on the front. At 4:19 p.m., a missile is launched from the field near Snizhne. A little under a minute later, it explodes next to the cockpit of flight MH17. Not long after that, reports appear on social media about a missile and explosions. Nearly half an hour later, Kharchenko reports to Dubinsky that they have downed a Ukrainian combat aircraft: "We are on the spot. We have already brought down a 'Sushka'. Dubinsky: "Well done, big guys! A 'Sushka'! Well done." But Dubinsky's thoughts are elsewhere, and he immediately switches to what is bothering him: "Lonya, tell me, have I ever done any fucking thing to hurt you? Fuck!" Dubinsky is furious about a bunch of armed men outside his door: "I don't know why I myself or my security haven't gunned them down, what a cock-up!" Once he is done raging, he orders Kharchenko to return to Donetsk: "You leave a battalion behind to guard the Buk, and then you will probably come this way. ( ) and Gyurza will come this way too. I'll call you right back." Kharchenko: "Understood, sir." Less than 30 minutes later, the two men have further contact. Kharchenko reports artillery bombardments near Marinovka. "Did you put the Buk well in place? Will it not be shot to pieces?" Dubinsky wants to know. "No, they can't reach it. We are out of their reach anyway." He also expects support from Russia. The Ukrainian army is close to the Russian border and is striking at the separatists in Marinovka from that position. "Now we wait for the Russians who should be firing at their position from that end." Two hours later, Dubinsky still does not know what has really happened. That becomes clear from a conversation with someone who indicates that he is being bombarded by journalists with questions about a downed Boeing. John Doe: "I am getting calls from journalists telling me that a Boeing has been shot south of Donetsk." Dubinsky: "Is there a fight going on?" (Dubinsky probably mistakes 'Boeing' for 'boj', the Russian word for fight) John Doe: "Boeing! There's been a plane crash." Dubinsky: "Ah, our people have brought one down over Savur-Mohyla, near Marinovka, our people have brought down a 'Sushka'." It still hasn't dawned on the commander of the whole operation that, two hours earlier, flight MH17 was downed, with 298 casualties. Shortly thereafter, he gets a phone call from the assistant to Girkin, the Minister of Defence, ordering him to report immediately. On his way to the meeting, he calls his girlfriend, who is cooking dinner. He can't make it. "It's boring with daddy not there, isn't it?" After the tête-a-tête at Girkin's office, Dubinsky is suddenly worried about what has transpired. Around 8:00 p.m., he calls his deputy Pulatov. He wants to have clarity about who has shot what. Dubinsky: "Tell me, did or did not our BUK fire?" Pulatov: "The Buk has brought down a 'Sushka'." Dubinsky: "So..." Pulatov: "But before that, the 'Sushka' downed the Boeing. They tried to blame us for that." Dubinsky: "So that 'Sushka' blew it to pieces, right?" Pulatov: "Yes, yes, yes." Dubinsky: "Understood. Did you see that, were you observing that?" Pulatov: "They observed that from the ground." ( ) Pulatov: "The 'Sushka' hit the Boeing. They saw that from Snezhnoye. After that, the 'Sushka' carried on, and the Buk blew it to shreds." Two minutes later, Dubinsky repeats this story to his boss, Igor Girkin. The Minister of Defence of the separatists, addressed by Dubinsky by call sign Number One. Dubinsky: "So, here's what happened. A 'Sushka' hit a fucking Boeing. After that, the 'Sushka', as it was on its second round, was brought down by our BUK. And lots and lots of our people saw that. Gyurza just reported that." Girkin: "Ah, so that's what happened. Understood." Dubinsky: "The 'Sushka' blew the Boeing to pieces, and our people blew the Sushka to pieces." Girkin: "Aha." Dubinsky: "That's good news, isn't it?" Girkin: "Well, I'm not sure. I don't think so, really." Dubinsky: "Well, they are going to blame us anyway, for blowing that thing to pieces." Not much later, Pulatov and Kharchenko both call from the MH17 crash site. Dubinsky himself now also seems to question the story that his subordinates have reported to him. When Kharchenko calls from the crash site asking if they should give the OSCE access, Dubinsky also asks him who has downed the Boeing: "You did observe that it was brought down by a 'Sushka', or was it ours after all?" Kharchenko "Not ours, Nikolayevich, not ours." Dubinsky: "So a 'Sushka' then? And then after that, the 'Sushka' brought down by our Buk, right?" Kharchenko: "Yes, first there was a bang up there, and then there was our bang." It was a Ukrainian combat aircraft; that's also what the separatists keep telling each other. They lay the foundation for the story that, a few days later, will also be officially embraced by the Russian Ministry of Defence. It will soon become clear that the evidence submitted by the Ministry in that respect is false. Russia will later switch to a different theory: flight MH17 has not been downed by the separatists, but by a Buk from the Ukrainian army. At 8:30 p.m., five hours after flight MH17, Dubinsky calls Girkin. The Minister instructs him to take the 'box' to the border with the neighbouring Lugansk region. Dubinsky and his men control a large part of the Donetsk region, but the only route to Russia leads through the Lugansk region, which is controlled by other rebel forces. Meanwhile, Kharchenko reports that the 'box' has left the launch site on its own and is headed for Snizhne. A town not far from the launch site. At 10:30 p.m. he calls Dubinsky again. Kharchenko: "Where does it go, where should I escort it to?" Dubinsky: "Up to the border with the Lugansk region." Kharchenko: "Aha." Dubinsky: "And then that's it. Clear?" But 45 minutes later, the Buk is still in Snizhne, at less than 10 km from the original launch site: "They don't know the way, nobody knows anything." But to be absolutely sure, Dubinsky himself then calls Bibliotekar, the man who has accompanied all the transports. Dubinsky: "Listen, did our people transfer a box to you last night?" Bibliotekar: "I took her away, she's over there." Dubinsky then calls his boss Girkin again. Dubinsky: "Bibliotekar personally took her there, and he is already towing something else for us this way." The Buk has finally arrived in Russia. Around noon, Dubinsky reports to the political leaders that a terrorist group will be arrested the next day: "I told him that it is very essential that they are still alive when they are picked up, because they have to make statements, etc., so that he will not present us with any dead bodies, you see?" Then the tapped number goes quiet. Dubinsky switches to a new number. That number is tapped as well, but there is no more talk of MH17 or any Buk. The commander focuses on the battle of Marinovka again. The whole MH17 episode seems to be closed as far as he is concerned. The war demands his attention again. Binnenland Buitenland