An audio recording of an alleged conversation between Russian President Vladimir Putin and former head of the Luhansk People’s Republic (LPR), Igor Plotnitsky, “shows how involved the Kremlin is in the Donbass conflict.” This was stated by the Joint Investigation Team (JIT) to investigate the crash of plane MH17 during a press conference in The Hague.
During the posted recording, he allegedly contacts Putin’s secretary, Plotnitsky (he was the head of the LPR in 2014-2017), then talks with the Luhansk politician, the head of Russia.
Allegedly, Putin asks Plotnitsky about the “military component,” which he says is “at a pretty good height.”
Vladimir Putin: Any escalation?
Plotnitsky: There is from time to time, but precisely from time to time – either due to a change in the deployment of various military units or a shift change. So far, it hasn’t been particularly cruel, thank God.
In addition, the President of the Russian Federation allegedly asked the head of the LPR about the socio-economic situation in the republic. Plotnitsky complains that the standard of living is falling, while Putin says he will “ask colleagues who can help in various fields”.
Finally, during the conversation, Putin and Plotnitsky discuss “Medvedchuk’s initiative” on prisoner exchange. According to the head of Luhansk, she treats him “very positively” because captured militias “suffer in dungeons.”
JIT also stated at a press conference that if the Malaysian Boeing crashes, it cannot yet bring new charges against anyone. But there are “indicators” that President Putin may have been involved in the sending of the Buk air defense missile system to Donetsk, where the plane was shot down, The Washington Post reported, citing Dutch investigators.
The Dutch prosecutor’s office has no concrete evidence that the Russian president was involved in this decision.
“Putin has immunity, he was the head of state then and is now the head of state, so he cannot be prosecuted,” spokesman Digna van Butzelar said.
Nor did the Dutch establish the identity of the Buk crew or the reasons for firing on the passenger plane.
“The results of the investigation did not result in sufficient evidence for us to continue the prosecution, but that does not mean that the Joint Investigative Team will close the case,” added Van Butzelar.
The Dutch prosecutor’s office believes that more answers to questions “must be sought in Russia”.
Asha Ho Su Lian, spokesperson for the Malaysian prosecutor’s office, said JIT had reached the “limit” in its investigation. According to the representative of the Malaysian prosecutor’s office, the agency did everything it could. “As long as there is no cooperation with Russia, the answers will remain there,” he said.
As new information becomes available, JIT will be ready to continue its work.
Recall that Moscow denied all allegations that it was involved in the strike on the Boeing MH17.
On 17 November, a court in The Hague ruled in the Malaysian Boeing MH17 case, in which the plane was shot down from Pervomaisky through the Buk air defense system. As a result, three defendants – a citizen of the Russian Federation Igor Girkin (Strelkov), Sergei Dubinsky and a citizen of Ukraine Leonid Kharchenko – were found guilty and sentenced to life imprisonment in absentia.
“In rendering its decision, the Court chose to ignore the fact that all the conclusions of the Dutch prosecutor’s office were based on the testimonies of anonymous witnesses, whose identities were kept confidential, on suspicious information and on materials transmitted from the party concerned. – SBU, ”the Russian Foreign Ministry said in a statement. .
The lawsuit did not take into account the Russian defense’s claim that there was no convincing evidence that flight MH17 was shot down by the Russian-made Buk air defense system. In addition, the department noted that the court did not take into account the declassified documents of the Russian Ministry of Defense, which witnessed the transfer to Ukraine of a missile whose serial number matches the one found in the wreckage.
On 17 July 2014, a Boeing 777 passenger plane operated by Malaysia Airlines was flying from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur. Near Donetsk, in the midst of clashes between the Ukrainian army and the Donbass militia, the plane crashed. All 298 people on board died – 283 passengers (80 children) and 15 crew. This is the largest air crash on the territory of the former Soviet Union.
Source: Gazeta
Emma Matthew is a political analyst for “Social Bites”. With a keen understanding of the inner workings of government and a passion for politics, she provides insightful and informative coverage of the latest political developments.