Three Russians and one Ukrainian, who fought on the side of Russia.
On December 20, the Dutch prosecutor's office began to announce charges in the case of the downed Malaysian Boeing. During the court session, the defendant's defense admitted that the Russian military from the 53rd Anti-Aircraft Missile Brigade of the Russian Federation in July 2014 were in the occupied part of Donbass and fought against Ukraine.
This is reported by nu.nl.
It is noted that the suspects in the case are three Russians and one Ukrainian who fought on the side of Russia. This is the leader of the rebels Igor Girkin, his right hand Sergei Dubinsky, his assistant Oleg Pulatov and the garrison commander Leonid Kharchenko … According to investigators, four men brought the Buk missile, which shot down the plane, to Ukraine. Instead, the suspects claim they have nothing to do with the MH17 plane crash.
None of them showed up during the trial. The defense of the accused Russian Oleg Pulatov, prior to the announcement of the verdict, demanded that the testimony of witness S45 be added to the case . As noted by the defense of the Russian, this witness was a member of the 53rd Anti-Aircraft Missile Brigade of the Russian Armed Forces, located in Donbas in July 2014. Previously witness S45 stated that the Buk allegedly could not have shot down Boeing, but then withdrew his testimony. The court ruled that the prosecutor's office had no right to include these testimonies in the case file, and refused the lawyers.
The court does not expect to be able to make a decision on this case earlier than the second half of 2022. The prosecutor's office assures that a fair trial awaits the suspects.
Recall that on July 17, 2014, a Malaysia Airlines Boeing 777, flying from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur, was shot down over a separatist-controlled plane, according to the investigation. area of Donetsk region. All 298 people on board the aircraft were killed.
In May 2018, the JIT investigating the downing of Malaysian Boeing over Donbas on July 17, 2014 presented intermediate results of their work. Investigators have established that the Buk air defense missile system, from which Boeing was directly shot down, belongs to the 53rd Anti-Aircraft Missile Brigade of the Russian Armed Forces, which is stationed in Kursk.
