10 more questions Russian military pose to Ukraine, US
over MH17 crash
Published time: July 21, 2014 23:23
Head of General Staff of the
Armed Forces Lt. Gen. Andrey Kartopolov ( left) and chief of the Air Force Main
Staff Lt. Gen. Igor Makushev ( right) at a media conference in Moscow, July 21
(RIA Novosti / Vadim Savitsky)
Russia has released military monitoring data, which
shows Kiev military jets tracking the MH17 plane shortly before the crash - and
posed yet another set of questions to Ukraine and the US over the circumstances
of the tragedy.
Military officials – chief of General Staff of the
Armed Forces Lt. Gen. Andrey Kartopolov and chief of the Air Force Main Staff
Lt. Gen. Igor Makushev - posed a number of questions to Kiev and Washington
concerning the possible causes of the catastrophe in Eastern Ukraine that killed
almost 300 people last Thursday.
1. Why did the MH17 plane leave
the international corridor?
“Please note that the plane stayed within the corridor
until it reached Donetsk but then it deviated from the route to the north,”
said Kartopolov.
2. Was MH17 leaving the route a
navigation mistake or was the crew following instructions by Ukrainian air
traffic controllers in Dnepropetrovsk?
“The maximum deviation from the left border of the
corridor was 14 km. Following that, we can see the plane maneuvering to return
to the corridor, yet the Malaysian crew did not get a chance to complete the
maneuver. At 17.20, the plane began to lose speed, and at 17.23 it disappeared
from Russian radars.”
3. Why was a large group of air defense systems
deployed to the militia-held area if the self-defense forces have no planes?
“As far as we know, the Ukrainian military had three
or four air defense battalions equipped with Buk-M1 SAM systems deployed in the
vicinity of Donetsk on the day of the crash. This system is capable of hitting
targets within the range of 35 km at the altitude of up to 22 km.”
Buk missile defense units in
Donetsk Region, 5km north of Donetsk city, on July 14, 2014. (RIA Novosti)
4. Why did Kiev deploy Buk
missile system right next to the militia-controlled area straight ahead of the
tragedy?
“We have satellite photos of the places where Ukraine
had its air defense units deployed in the southeastern parts of the country.
The first three photos were made on July 14. The first photo shows Buk
launchers 8 km northwest of Lugansk. You can clearly see a TELAR and two TELs.
The second photo shows radars 5 km north of Donetsk. You can see two TARs along
with other equipment and technical structures. The third photo shows air
defense systems north of Donetsk. You can clearly see a TELAR launcher and about
60 military and auxiliary vehicles, tents for vehicles and other structures.
“Here’s a photo of the same area made on July 17.
Please note that the launcher has disappeared. The fifth photo shows a battery
of Buk missiles at the village of Zaroshchenskoye 50 km east of Donetsk and 8
km south of Shakhtyorsk on the morning of the same day. The sixth photo shows
the same area on July 18. As you can see, the battery has left.”
No Buk missile defense units in Donetsk Region, 5km
north of Donetsk city, on July 17, 2014. (RIA Novosti)
5. On the day of the crash Kiev
increased activity on its Kupol-M1 9S18 radars, which are components of the Buk
system in the area. Why?
“Also, July 17 saw increased activity on the part of
Ukraine’s Kupol-M1 9S18 radars, which are part of the Buk system. Here on this
chart you see that there were seven radars operating on July 15, eight radars
operating on July 16, and nine radars operating on July 17 in the area. Then,
starting with July 18, the intensity of radar activities radically decreased,
and now there are no more than two or three radars operating a day. The reason
behind this is yet to be found.”
6. What was a military plane
doing on the route intended for civilian flights?
“There were three civilian planes in the area
performing their regular flights at this time. There was a flight from
Copenhagen to Singapore at 17:17, there was a flight from Paris to Taipei at
17:24, and then there was the flight from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur.”
“Also, Russian monitoring systems registered that there was a Ukrainian Air
Force jet, probably Su-25, climbing and approaching the Malaysian Boeing.”
“The Su-25 was 3-5 km away from the Malaysian plane. Su-25 is capable of
climbing to the altitude of 10,000 meters for a short period of time. Its
standard armament includes R60 air-to-air missiles, which are capable of
locking and hitting targets from 12 km and which are guaranteed to hit the
target from the distance of 5 km.”
(RIA Novosti / Vadim Savitsky)
7. Why was the military jet
flying at almost the same time and the same altitude with a passenger plane?
“At 17:21’35, with [the Boeing’s] velocity having
dropped to 200 kilometers per hour, a new mark detecting an airborne object
appears at the spot of the Boeing’s destruction. This new airborne object was
continuously detected for the duration of four minutes by the radar stations
Ust-Donetsk and Buturinskaya. An air traffic controller requested the
characteristics of the new airborne object, but was unable to get any readings
on its parameters – most likely due to the fact that the new aircraft was not
equipped with a secondary surveillance radar transponder, which is a
distinctive feature of military aircraft,” said Makushev.
“Detecting the new aircraft became possible as it started to ascend. Further
changes in the airborne object’s coordinates suggest that it was hovering above
the Boeing 777’s crash site, monitoring of the situation.
“Ukrainian officials earlier claimed that there were no Ukrainian military
aircraft in the area of the crash that day. As you can see, that is not true.”
8. Where did the launcher – from
the video circulated by Western media and showing a Buk system being moved
allegedly from Ukraine to Russia – come from? As the video was made on the
territory controlled by Kiev, where was the launcher being transported?
“I’d like to say that the information we have
presented here is based on objective and reliable data from various technical
systems – unlike the groundless accusations made against Russia,” said
Kartopolov.
“For example, media circulated a video supposedly
showing a Buk system being moved from Ukraine to Russia. This is clearly a
fabrication. This video was made in the town of Krasnoarmeisk, 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.”
9. Where is it right now? Why are
some of the missiles missing on the launcher? When was the last time a missile
was launched from it?
Screenshot from video posted on Ukraine’s Ministry of
Interior account, showing a Buk system supposedly being moved from Ukraine to
Russia with two out of three missiles.
10. Why haven’t US officials
revealed the evidence supporting claims that the MH17 was shot down by a
missile launched by the militia?
“US officials claim they have satellite photographs
proving the Malaysian airliner was shot down by a missile launched by the
militia. But no one has seen these photographs so far. As far as we know, there
was indeed a US satellite flying over southeastern Ukraine on July 17 from
17:06 to 17:21 Moscow time.
“This satellite is part of an experimental system
designed to track and monitor the launches of missiles of various ranges. If
our US colleagues have imagery from this satellite, they should release it for
the international community to examine it in detail. This may be a coincidence,
but the US satellite flew over Ukraine at exactly the same time when the
Malaysian airliner crashed.”
Buk missile defense units in Zaroschinskoe, 50km south
of Donetsk city and 8km south of Shakhtyorsk, on July 17, 2014.Photo courtesy
of the Russian Defense Ministry
This is not the first time Russia brings up questions on the plane crash. No explanations have
followed with Kiev insisting they have full evidence of Russia being behind the
attack, but so far only releasing tapes.
The USA, putting the blame on the self-defense forces,
has yet refused to release any intelligence material. On Monday State
Department Deputy Spokesperson Marie Harf described Russia’s statements as “propaganda
and misinformation” - but when reporters asked her whether Washington would
be releasing their intelligence and satellite data, Harf only replied "may
be." So far the US has been backing its statements by social media and
"common sense."