In a critical announcement on Thursday, investigators examining the downing of Malaysia Airlines MH-17 forensically linked the disaster to Vladimir Putin’s inner circle.
MH-17 was lost along with 298 lives after being shot down with a Russian military Buk missile system.
But the big news on Thursday is that the Netherlands headquartered Joint Investigation Team have possession of audio intercepts of phone calls between a top Putin official, Vladislav Surkov, and senior pro-Russian rebel leaders in the area where MH-17 was shot down. Those phone calls, the team says, escalated in frequency in the immediate run-up to MH-17’s crash on July 17th, 2014. One intercept from July 3rd, 2014, shows Surkov telling a senior rebel commander that Russian military support is “already departing for the south to be combat-ready.”
This is a big deal.
The investigators say that Russia’s FSB intelligence service attempted to shield these conversations from prying ears by providing rebel forces with secure communications equipment. Obviously, that equipment didn’t work as well it was supposed to. While the investigators say the audio files were provided by Ukraine’s SBU intelligence service, I suspect the U.S. National Security Agency was the originating collection entity. And while the investigators released cell phone numbers they wish for public assistance in identifying, this announcement is likely designed to invite journalistic scrutiny. The NSA, SBU, and their partners have likely already identified the users of those numbers.
So we now have a proven, direct link between Putin, and the rebels, via Surkov. At the time of the calls and MH-17’s downing, Surkov was a senior adviser to Putin. He was based in the heart of the Kremlin, in Putin’s executive office.
This is conclusive proof of Putin’s involvement. Why did Surkov get so personally involved, even though the Russian GRU intelligence service, which was leading much of the on-ground liaison with pro-Russian rebels? Because Putin wanted and had direct control over what was happening on the ground. He wanted direct authority over the military aid and advice being given to the rebels. That aid included the Buk missile system. He is thus culpable.
The MH-17 tragedy began with Russian aggression, was defined in the immediate aftermath by the Obama administration’s impotence, and has since been shaped by Russia’s disregard for any semblance of justice. But the publication of this news, and the conclusive proof of Putin’s involvement is a big step in the right direction.
