Who shot down Malaysia Airlines flight 17 over Ukraine on July 17, 2014?
04 May, 2015The Donetsk People's Republic (DNR) shot down MH17 using a surface-to-air missile (mistaking it for a Ukrainian military plane).
The Ukrainian government shot down MH17 using an air-to-air missile (mistaking it for an enemy plane).
The Ukrainian government shot down MH17 using a surface-to-air missile (during a training exercise).
The Ukrainian government shot down MH17 using an air-to-air missile (in order to frame the DNR).
In July 2014, Ukraine was fighting with the Donetsk People's Republic (DNR), a separatist organization and self-proclaimed state in the Ukraine that supports Russia. On July 17, 2014, Malaysia Airlines flight MH17 was shot down and crashed over DNR territory.
The evidence strongly points that the DNR shot down MH17, mistaking it for a military plane. Multiple joyful reports of the successful shoot-down (prior to it being identified as civilian) are significant evidence to that effect. Most notable among these reports is a post by a DNR commander saying the DNR had shot down a military plane that afternoon - a post that was removed an hour later.
Two pieces of evidence stand out against the DNR hypothesis. The first is a satellite image showing a Ukrainian plane shooting at MH17. Close inspection of this image identifies many obvious signs of fabrication. The second is the low likelihood of a rebel group having the capability to shoot down a commercial flight at 30,000 feet. This evidence is contradicted by multiple images of a BUK (a Soviet surface-to-air missile system) traveling through Donetsk around the time of the crash.
To claim that someone other than the DNR shot down MH17 requires two unlikely assumptions: That Ukraine conducted a very wide and effective fabrication effort of the BUK images, and that a major misunderstanding caused DNR to falsely believe they downed the plane.
A video of a BUK missing a missile shows a background consistent with a location in
The DNR shot down Malaysia Airlines flight MH17. There was no fighting in the area of the crash.
Ukraine shot down Malaysia Airlines flight MH17. There was no fighting in the area of the crash.
The DNR shot down Malaysia Airlines flight MH17. There was heavy fighting in the area of the crash.
Ukraine shot down Malaysia Airlines flight MH17. There was heavy fighting in the area of the crash.
A DNR commander (Alexander Khodakovsky, commander of the Vostok Battalion) said that the DNR had access to a BUK missile system. He claims that the Ukraine knew of it and provoked them to use it by starting an air strike at the time MH17 flew over the area.
AP reporters confirmed that a BUK missile launcher was in
A secret witness said that of the Ukrainian air force planes that left the base on July 17, 2014, two were shot down, and the one that returned no longer had its air-to-air missiles.
The Ukrainian intelligence service reported that the DNR received instructions from Russian military and "discussed receipt, disposition (including hiding), and use of BUKs to bring down Ukrainian planes."
In 2015, a DNR commander (Andrei Purgin) said they did not have the capability to shoot down a plane.
Ukrainian intelligence said that BUK units were shipped out of eastern Ukraine in the early morning of July 18.
On July 17 a picture was posted (on the VKontakte website) of a BUK on a truck with a white cab and a blue double swish, a red bed, and a yellow sign in
An international paper with no ties to Ukraine or the DNR (Paris Match) published a picture they reported to have taken of a BUK launcher on the road between
A video posted on July 17, 2014, shows an armored vehicle driving on a dual-carriageway.
A video posted on August 6, 2014, ostensibly shows a BUK being driven by a white truck with a blue double swish and a red bed up a hill in
AP reporters confirmed that a BUK missile launcher was in
According to Twitter users, a BUK traveled towards
A picture showed a truck with a white cab and a blue double swish, a red bed, and a yellow sign transporting equipment in Donetsk a few weeks after MH17 was shot down.
A video of a BUK missing a missile shows a background consistent with a location in
A DNR commander (Alexander Khodakovsky, commander of the Vostok Battalion) said that the DNR had access to a BUK missile system. He claims that the Ukraine knew of it and provoked them to use it by starting an air strike at the time MH17 flew over the area.
A video showed a BUK being driven by a white truck with a blue double swish and a red bed through
The Ukrainian intelligence service provided a transmission in which a DNR soldier purportedly said they had a BUK launcher.
A DNR soldier reported that they had shot down a plane around 4:10 PM, which crashed northwest of
Igor Girkin, one of the leaders of the DNR, posted a Twitter message at 4:50 local time on July 17, 2014 that the DNR had shot down an AN-26 and possibly a Su-type plane. He later deleted the tweet.
In an internal transmission on July 17, 2014 between 5:10 and 5:40 pm, DNR rebels reported that the plane shot down was a civilian plane. The person referred to as "Major" asked if there were any weapons or documents, but was told there were only civilian items.
Malaysia Airlines flight MH17 was struck primarily on the left side of the plane at the cockpit, engine, wing, tail, and stabilizer.
There were many holes in the remains of Malaysia Airlines flight MH17.
The DNR shot down Malaysia Airlines flight MH17. There was no fighting in the area of the crash.
Ukraine shot down Malaysia Airlines flight MH17. There was no fighting in the area of the crash.
The DNR shot down Malaysia Airlines flight MH17. There was heavy fighting in the area of the crash.
Ukraine shot down Malaysia Airlines flight MH17. There was heavy fighting in the area of the crash.
What was the DNR's concern with the black boxes?
The DNR was tampering with the evidence contained in the black boxes.
The DNR was concerned that Ukraine would tamper with the evidence contained within the black boxes.
The DNR was unconcerned regarding the black boxes.
A DNR commander (Alexander Khodakovsky, the commander of DNR's Vostok Battalion) said that Ukraine launched an air strike on
Radar shows a few objects close together in the vicinity of Malaysia Airlines flight MH17 just after it was shot down.
A secret witness said that of the Ukrainian air force planes that left the base on July 17, 2014, two were shot down, and the one that returned no longer had its air-to-air missiles.
A fighter plane fired on flight MH17.
Yes, there is an authentic image of an Su-25 fighter jet firing on Malaysia Airlines flight MH17.
No, the image of a fighter jet firing on Malaysia Airlines flight MH17 was faked.
An anonymous source said that Ukraine was running a BUK training exercise near
Authorities in Kiev said that Ukraine did not deploy any jets on July 17, 2014.
Social media reported that a vertical column of smoke was spotted outside
When a Russian military commander (Cossak Ataman Nikolay Kozitsyn) was asked if he knew who shot down Malaysia Airlines flight MH17, he first responded "a missile," and when pressed he responded "no comment" (even though until then he had explained himself and answered questions).
The missile that hit Malaysia Airlines flight MH17 was launched from the area of
Russian intelligence said that on the day the Malaysian airliner crashed, Ukrainian forces had an air defense group, including a BUK-M1 missile launcher, near Donetsk.
Discussion
Was there fighting at the crash site (taking into account who shot down the plane)?
What was the DNR's concern with the black boxes?
Is the image of a fighter jet firing on Malaysia Airlines flight MH17 authentic?
Authorities in Kiev said that Ukraine did not deploy any jets on July 17, 2014.