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Investigation into MH17 crash in Ukraine continues, says prosecutor's office

Earlier, Brechtje van de Moosdijk said new results of the investigation could be available in the spring of 2023

THE HAGUE, November 23. /TASS/. The joint investigation team continues to look into the Boeing crash case in Ukraine. In particular, it concerns the crew of the Buk anti-aircraft missile system and the decision-making process of its deployment, Brechtje van de Moosdijk, an official representative of the Dutch prosecutor's office, told TASS on Wednesday.

"The further investigation is not something new," she stressed, "We always said that there still was an investigation into the crew members and the decision-making process of the Buk - TELAR. Last year, there was the last call for information about it."

Earlier, van de Moosdijk said new results of the investigation could be available in the spring of 2023.

Malaysia Airlines’ Boeing-777 (passenger flight MH17 from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur) was shot down on July 17, 2014 over the Donetsk Region of Ukraine, killing 298 people — citizens of ten countries. The Joint Investigation Team announced in June 2019 that it had established a list of four suspected accomplices. They are the former head of the Donetsk People’s Republic’s militia Igor Girkin (Strelkov) and his subordinates Sergey Dubinsky, Oleg Pulatov and Leonid Kharchenko. Their trial began on March 9, 2020. All of them were accused of delivering a Buk anti-aircraft system to Ukraine from Russia. The prosecutors demanded life imprisonment for all.

The court pronounced its sentence on the case on November 17. Girkin, Dubinsky and Kharchenko were sentenced in absentia to life imprisonment. The fourth defendant, Oleg Pulatov, represented by two Dutch lawyers, was acquitted.

Russian officials have repeatedly expressed distrust towards the investigation team, pointing to the groundlessness of the prosecution’s arguments and reluctance to take into account Moscow’s arguments in the course of the investigation. Commenting on the sentence, the Russian Foreign Ministry stated that the Dutch court had disregarded the principles of impartial justice in favor of the current political situation, thus inflicting a serious reputational blow on the entire Dutch judicial system.

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