The Russian Defence Ministry shared new data about the missile that hit the Malaysian Boeing over Donbas. The Ministry declared that its experts determined the number of the missile and tracked its path from the production. All information on this case has been sent to the Netherlands and the Joint Investigation Team.
Daria Kozlova with the details.
These are the fragments of missile's engine and jet pipe located at the crash site of the Malaysian Boeing. The serial numbers can be clearly seen. Four years after the tragedy, they were revealed for the first time in the Netherlands at the meeting of the JIT. It allowed the Russian experts to determine the serial number of the missile that shot down the passenger airplane.
These papers had been classified for 30 years. With them, one can track the path of the 9M38 missile from production to launch. We see that on December 29, 1986, the missile was sent from the Dolgoprudninsky facility to the military unit 20-152 The unit was stationed in the Ukrainian Republic. The missile never returned to Russia.
"The unit's actual name was 223 AA-Missile Brigade. In 1986, the Brigade was a part of the Prikarpatsky Military District and was stationed in the town of Terebovlya in the Ternopol Oblast of the Ukrainian SSR. It was armed with the Buk AA-missile systems. It wasn't shipped back to Russia after the collapse of the USSR and was adopted by the Ukrainian Armed Forces".
Since 2014, the 223 AA-Missile Brigade has been conducting counter-terrorist operations in the East of Ukraine. The missile that shot down the Malaysian Boeing was in its arsenal. Besides, Ukraine must still have documents describing when and where this missile was shipped.
Igor Konashenkov, Defence Ministry Spokesman: "It's one thing when you make empty accusations referencing some Internet videos. It's another when you show actual papers. Once again, I'd like to point out that such strict accountability documents must be stored in the archive of the 223 AA-Missile Brigade of the Ukrainian Armed Forces. We believe that the JIT must demand that Ukraine provide those documents".
The Russian experts also analyzed the videos shared by the JIT. They allegedly show the movement of the Buk complex. The footage breaks the laws of linear perspective and light distribution; The picture remains blurry even when the Buk approaches the camera. The footage shows the complex moving across Ukraine in reverse. The Defence Ministry experts concluded that the footage was made by animating static images.
Igor Konashenkov: "The submitted documents are the incontestable proof that Ukraine is not only responsible for the tragedy but also tried to manipulate the international investigation. Moreover, we've acquired a recording of the phone call made by Ukrainian soldiers in 2016. The assessment of the conversation confirms our previously drawn conclusion that Ukraine is directly responsible for the crash of the Malaysian Boeing".
The recording features the voice of the Ukrainian Colonel Ruslan Grinchak. In 2014, one of his responsibilities was supervising the air situation in Eastern Ukraine. During the conversation, he promises to shoot down another Boeing.
"Tell them, if they keep doing that we'll shoot another f* Boeing and it'll be f* perfect. That's what you should say. They wouldn't f* get it otherwise".
The Russian experts are ready to send all documents and recordings presented today to the JIT. In addition, the Defence Ministry points out that Ukraine still hasn't presented the raw radar data the information regarding the location of its Buk complexes on the day of the catastrophe the recordings of the air traffic control and hasn't explained the activity of its Kupol radar stations on July 17, 2014.
Daria Kozlova, Ilya Nalyotov Andrey Yurchuk, Anastasia Stashchenko Vesti.
