Please enable JS and disable any ad blocker Your request appears similar to malicious requests sent by robots Please make sure JavaScript is enabled and then try loading this page again. If you continue to be blocked, please send an email to secruxurity@sizetedistrict.cVmwom with: Refugees celebrate first Christmas since fleeing Ukraine 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 analyses evidence from open sources relating to the Buk missile launcher filmed and photographed in eastern Ukraine on July 17th that many have linked to the downing of Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 While other open source information is available on other aspects of the downing of MH17 the Bellingcat MH17 investigation team believes that this particular investigation provides solid information about the origin and movements of the Buk filmed and photographed on July 17th The Bellingcat MH17 investigation team also believes that many of the unresolved questions about the downing of MH17 will be answered by the official investigation and our investigation was made possible by the examination of open source material overlooked by other organisations The first examines the open source evidence relating to the movements of the Buk in eastern Ukraine on July 17th the second presents evidence that the Buk filmed and photographed on July 17th originated in Russia and was part of a convoy headed towards the Ukrainian border in late June and the third looks at the activity of vehicles seen in the same convoy after July 17th It is the opinion of the Bellingcat MH17 investigation team that there is undeniable evidence that separatists in Ukraine were in control of a Buk missile launcher on July 17th and transported it from Donetsk to Snizhne on a transporter The Buk missile launcher was unloaded in Snizhne approximately three hours before the downing of MH17 and was later filmed minus one missile driving through separatist-controlled Luhansk The Bellingcat MH17 investigation team also believes the same Buk was part of a convoy travelling from the 53rd Anti-Aircraft Missile Brigade in Kursk to near the Ukrainian border as part of a training exercise between June 22nd and July 25th with elements of the convoy separating from the main convoy at some point during that period including the Buk missile launcher filmed in Ukraine on July 17th There is strong evidence indicating that the Russian military provided separatists in eastern Ukraine with the Buk missile launcher filmed and photographed in eastern Ukraine on July 17th A PDF version of this report is available – Origin of the Separatists’ Buk A Bellingcat Investigation The report is now available in German here The repoort is also now available in French here Explore a map showing the separatists’ Buk and June and July convoys in Russia here photographs and videos were posted on social media sites claiming to show a Buk missile launcher in areas close to the MH17 crash site the Bellingcat MH17 investigation team has been able to establish the exact location at which these images were recorded and the approximate time that many of the images were recorded the investigation team has mapped the route of the Buk missile launcher through separatist-controlled territory in eastern Ukraine on July 17th Photograph from Paris Match of the Buk missile launcher in Donetsk showing an eastward direction of travel along the H21 motorway who claimed the truck had been stolen by separatists and that the vehicle was unique in the region a city that lies east of Zuhres and west of Torez and using shadows visible in the image it was estimated the time the photograph was taken was approximately 12:30pm Photograph and screenshot from footage of the Buk missile launcher in Snizhne less than 1 kilometer northwest of the location on the video the photograph was taken at approximately 1:30PM The AP reported on August 25th that “On July 17 AP reporters in the town of Snizhne saw a tracked launcher with four SA-11 surface-to-air missiles parked on a street The bulky missile system is also known as a Buk M-1 people six miles (10 kilometers) west of Snizhne heard loud noises and then saw the wreckage and bodies from Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 fall from the sky.” Three hours prior to the time MH17 was downed was 1:20pm local time supporting the time indicated by the shadows in the Snizhne photograph The final video was posted online by the Ukrainian Ministry of Interior on July 18. In this video, the Buk missile launcher is back on the low-loader truck, but is now missing at least one missile. The Russian Ministry of Defence claimed in a press conference on July 21 that this video was in fact filmed in Ukrainian government-controlled territory stating that the “media circulated a video supposedly showing a Buk system being moved from Ukraine to Russia This video was made in the town of Krasnoarmeysk as evidenced by the billboard you see in the background advertising a car dealership at 34 Dnepropetrovsk Street Krasnoarmeysk has been controlled by the Ukrainian military since May 11.” as cited in the Russian Ministry of Defence press conference.Bottom photograph of the same billboard taken by a Luhansk resident However, investigations by Bellingcat have shown this statement from the Russian Ministry of Defence to be untrue and it has been possible to find the exact location in the separatist-held area of Luhansk where this video was filmed While it is not possible to discern the exact time this video was filmed there are three pieces of evidence that lend credence to the Ukrainian Ministry of Interior’s claim that the video was filmed on the early morning of July 18: Throughout the sequence of videos and photographs showing the Buk missile launcher in eastern Ukraine it is clear the same low-loader truck is being used and the vehicle has been described as unique by its owner it is clear that the separatists have used the same low-loader to move military vehicles on occasions after July 17 On August 6th 2014, a photographed was shared online showing the low-loader truck carrying a military vehicle through the town of Makiivka While the board with the phone number painted onto it was removed it is still a clear match to the same vehicle used on July 17 Google Earth satellite map imagery of the low-loader at vehicle rental site on July 24 Google Earth satellite map imagery of the low-loader at same location on August 9 By examining historical satellite map imagery of the vehicle rental site that the low-loader truck was taken from it is possible to identify a red low-loader with a white cabin only one of which is ever present at the site By comparing satellite map imagery from July 24 it is clear that the low-loader truck was moved during that period which would fit with it being used elsewhere on August 6 photograph of the low-loader truck from August 26 screenshot from footage of the same low-loader truck filmed by separatists on August 26 On August 26, 2014 a photograph and video of an identical low-loader truck were posted online The video featured a woman who had appeared in previous separatist-filmed videos and it appears the low-loader truck was being used to transport a damaged vehicle it appears clear to the Bellingcat MH17 investigation team that separatists transported a Buk missile system through their territory on July 17 and used the same low-loader truck used to transport the Buk missile system on July 17 on at least two occasions in August The Buk missile system was unloaded in Snizhne and was then transported on the same low-loader truck to separatist-controlled Luhansk Map of the six sightings of a Buk missile launcher on July 17 and 18 in separatist-controlled territories of eastern Ukraine Section Two: The June Convoy and “Buk 3×2” a convoy left the 53rd Anti-Aircraft Missile Brigade near Kursk it has been possible for the Bellingcat MH17 investigation team to collect evidence of the movements of the convoy and evidence that confirms that one of the Buk missile launchers in the convoy was the same Buk missile launcher filmed and photographed in Ukraine on July 17 travelling from Donetsk to Luhansk through separatist-controlled territory in eastern Ukraine Screenshots from various videos of the June convoy taken by local residents The Bellingcat MH17 investigation team has collected 16 videos posted on social media sites including VKontakte, YouTube, Instagram, and Odnoklassniki that show the 53rd Brigade’s convoy moving from Kursk on June 23rd to Millerovo on June 25th. The Bellingcat MH17 investigation team has also been able to identify the exact location at which each video was filmed and by matching vehicles visible in different videos to confirm that all these 16 videos show the same convoy It was also possible to find a local news report about the movement of the convoy which included images of vehicles from the same convoy According to the report locals who spoke to soldiers in the convoy they were “being sent to the border with Ukraine to ‘strengthen border control.’” It was also possible to link the convoy to the 53rd Brigade using social media posts by members of the 53rd Brigade. For example, this post by a member of the Brigade 2014 shows the numbered Buk units as well as the number plate of one of the transporters being used which matches vehicles visible in the convoy videos Images posted to the now-deleted profile of brigade member Ivan Krasnoproshin also show vehicles that are part of the convoy Photograph taken posted on the VKontakte profile of Vasily Ilyin on June 25 number plate XP 8236 50 in the June convoy.Right the same number plate in Vasily Ilyin’s June 25th photograph Buk 231 in Vasily Ilyin’s June 25th photograph a truck in the June convoy with number plate 0639 AH 50.Right the same truck in a photograph posted online by Ivan Krasnoproshin Images posted to social media accounts of 53rd Brigade members show certificates issued by the unit detailing their promotion after a training exercise that took place between June 22nd and July 25th These dates are significant as not only was the convoy seen heading towards the border on June 23rd some vehicles returned to the base before July 19th Images of certificates posted by 53rd Brigade members on social media accounts The most important feature of this convoy is the presence of the same Buk missile launcher filmed on July 17th 2014 travelling through separatist territory and linked by some to the downing of MH17 The Bellingcat MH17 investigation team refers to this Buk as “Buk 3×2” as the middle number appears to have been worn off It appears in 8 of the 16 videos showing the convoy travelling between June 23rd and June 25th and the Bellingcat MH17 investigation team has been able to match features of the missile launcher in the convoy to those seen on the missile launcher filmed and photographed in Ukraine on July 17th It is the opinion of the Bellingcat MH17 investigation team that because of these matches the vehicle seen in the convoy and travelling through separatists controlled territory on July 17th is the same vehicle A screenshot from footage of Buk 3×2 in Stary Oskol The Paris Match photograph taken in Donetsk on July 17th has proven to be very valuable in confirming the origin and identity of the Buk missile launcher the white markings on the side of the vehicle and damage to the side skirt above the tracks of the Buk Markings on Buk systems that were part of the June convoy The markings on the side of Buk 3×2 consist of the following: As with other Russian vehicles appearing inside Ukraine under separatist control attempts have been made to obscure the unit designation number it is still possible to match the markings because these markings are not applied to Buk missile launchers in a consistent fashion each Buk has slightly different positions for the unit designation numbers and do not share the same additional markings such as the transportation-related markings they are generally not in the exact same position on “Buk 3×2” (with the middle number obscured) we have an additional white mark on the side skirt that appears to serve no purpose and may be nothing more than an accidental splash of paint It is also notable that some of these markings can be recognized in the photograph taken in Snizhne although much of the unit designation number and the top of the “2” have been obscured which has allowed us to lay the Paris Match photograph over images of Buk 3×2 in the Russian convoy: Overlaid comparison between Buk in Paris Match photo in Ukraine and Buk 3×2 in Russia It’s clear from these images that the positions of the markings match the Bellingcat MH17 investigation team has attempted the same type of comparison with other Buk missile launchers from both Ukraine and Russia No other comparison made by the Bellingcat MH17 investigation team has come close to matching all the matching elements between the images of Buk 3×2 in Russia and the Paris Match Buk In addition to comparing the markings on the vehicles the Bellingcat MH17 investigation team was also able to establish a second feature on Buk missile launchers that varies between units: side skirt damage The side skirt that runs above the tracks of the Buk systems is prone to damage and this creates a unique pattern of damage we refer to as the “side skirt fingerprint.” Below a Buk that is certainly the same in each photograph shows a high correlation in each side skirt profile The Bellingcat MH17 investigation team compared the side skirt fingerprints of a number of Buk missile systems in Ukraine and Russia in order to find possible matches to the Buk seen in the Paris Match photograph In each of the following side skirt fingerprint images the side skirt profile with the highest correlation is Buk 3×2 filmed transported near Stary Oskol in June Many of the other photographs are clearly not matches for the Paris Match Buk another comparison of the side skirt profiles between the two photos shows a similarity that can be seen in both the isolated amplitudes and in the photographs: Russia in JuneBottom: Buk filmed in Donetsk there is one discrepancy: on the right hand side of the comparison there is a small but significant difference underneath the transportation-related markings but this in fact further confirms that these two Buks are one in the same Because the Paris Match photograph has been flattened any damage to the side skirt that projects outwards would cause a distortion that would not be visible in any images taken directly side-on to the vehicle such as the images used to compare the side skirt fingerprints that type of damage to the side skirt would have to be visible to account for the difference and if that damage was visible then it would be further confirmation that it was the same vehicle the Paris Match photograph from Donetsk showing side skirt damage on BukMiddle screenshot from footage in Stary Oskol showing side skirt damage on Buk 3×2Right screenshot from footage in Stary Oskol showing side skirt damage on Buk 3×2 This damage is in fact visible in two videos of Buk 3×2 filmed in Russia, one in Stary Oskol (2:02) showing the damage from behind, and another from Alexeyevka (0:50) showing the same damage from the opposite direction The damage is in the same position as the discrepancy in the Buk fingerprint from the Paris Match photograph and further confirms the Buk in the Paris Match photograph is the same vehicle travelling through Russia as part of the 53rd Brigade’s convoy towards the Ukrainian border in late June 2014 In the opinion of the Bellingcat MH17 investigation team the Buk missile launcher filmed and photographed travelling through separatist-held territory on July 17th is the same vehicle seen in the convoy travelling through Russia towards to the Ukrainian border in late June 2014 Map showing the route of the June convoy from Kursk to Millerovo near the Ukrainian border Each point designates a confirmed sighting of the convoy through videos uploaded on social media videos were uploaded to various websites showing a military convoy travelling through Russia The convoy consisted of a number of transport vehicles carrying covered units The Bellingcat MH17 investigation team has been able to establish the route the convoy took and that the convoy originated from the 53rd Anti-Aircraft Missile Brigade at least one vehicle in the July convoy was also in the June convoy at least one Buk missile loader seen in the June convoy was recorded on July 20th near separatist-controlled areas of the border hundreds of kilometres away from the location it was recorded in as part of the June convoy The Bellingcat MH17 investigation team was able to identity 10 videos posted on July 19th and 20th, 2014 showing a military convoy consisting of multiple vehicles, including covered vehicles on transporters. It was possible to link vehicles in this convoy to the 53rd Anti-Aircraft Missile Brigade with the following image taken from the Fedeseyevka video on July 20th This video shows a BT80 with the number 993 The same vehicle appears in the photos on the VKontakte page of Sanya Reznikov served in the 53rd Brigade from 2013 to sometime in 2014 BT80 at the 53rd Anti-Aircraft Missile Brigade Other members of this Brigade also posted photographs of the same vehicle with identical markings Although many of the vehicles in the July convoy appear to have different number plates than those in the June convoy (when discernable) at least one vehicle seen in the June convoy was also part of the July convoy One video from July 20th was of particular interest to the Bellingcat MH17 investigation team. This video was posted online from the town of Kamensk-Shakhtinsky over 300km from the location of the other videos posted on July 20th This video shows a Buk missile loader being transported through the town This same vehicle was seen as part of the June convoy heading to the Ukrainian border in June the same vehicle on July 20th in Kamensk-Shakhtinsky a screenshot from the July 20th video in Kamensk-Shakhtinsky.Bottom Two differences from the June recordings of the Buk are noticeable the missiles are covered in camouflage netting the Bellingcat MH17 investigation team notes that during their investigation they have only seen netting used on one other vehicle: the Buk filmed inside Ukraine on July 17th the photograph of the Buk missile launcher seen in Torez on July 17th Based on the above information the Bellingcat MH17 investigation team concludes that at some point in late June vehicles that were part of the June 23rd convoy from the 53rd Anti-Aircraft Missile Brigade separated Some of these vehicles returned to the 53rd Anti-Aircraft Missile Brigade base in Kursk and joined the July 19th convoy from the base appears to have left the main convoy and towards the Ukrainian border it has not been possible to establish when the June 23rd convoy returned to the 53rd Anti-Aircraft Missile Brigade base in Kursk it is clear that at least one Buk missile launcher (3×2) from the June 23rd convoy was inside separatist-controlled territory on July 17th and 3 days later a video was uploaded showing that the Buk system loader unit was very close to the Ukrainian border it is possible that this Buk missile launcher was part of the same June 23rd convoy as “Buk 3×2” and supported it it has not been possible to establish that relationship between the two vehicles a map showing the route of the July convoy from Stary Oskol to Olkhovatka Each point designates a confirmed sighting of the convoy through videos uploaded on social media.Bottom a Buk missile launcher in Kamensk-Shakhtinsky This report was created collaboratively using Slack.com Thanks to Mapbox for their help creating the maps used in this investigation This website is using a security service to protect itself from online attacks The action you just performed triggered the security solution There are several actions that could trigger this block including submitting a certain word or phrase You can email the site owner to let them know you were blocked Please include what you were doing when this page came up and the Cloudflare Ray ID found at the bottom of this page 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 another video and another photograph have appeared that gives us even more of an understanding of where the Buk Missile Launcher was on July 17th This first video was rather unique as the apparent poster gave the exact location and time it was posted, so it was a case of verifying that information. The co-ordinates given were 48°01’01.1″N 38°18’06.6″E Based on the position of the buildings in the video if this was the correct position then the camera position would be northwest of the road as the position of several objects in the video matched what was visible in satellite map imagery The arrangement of pathways in the area also matched Based on the above matches, it seems highly probable the location is correction. Using SunCalc a website that allows you to see the direction of shadows at different times of days it appears the shadows cast by the trees fits to around 11:40am (note the time shown below is -2 hours local time) The next image is a photograph from Paris Match showing the Buk loaded on what appears to be the same trailer seen in images from Zuhres The below image shows the truck from the Paris Match photograph in the top left and checking the the road along the automatically created route It’s possible to match many elements in the Paris Match photograph with that in the Google Street View image Considering the time difference between the two images but there’s one more thing that makes this an excellent match The tree tops visible in the Street View images and photograph appear to be very similar which combined with the rest of the matches in the picture makes it certain this is the same location Using SunCalc the shadows point to the Paris Match image being from early morning I’ll take a look at all the evidence that has been gathered so far 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 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 (200 kilometers) 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 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.