Moscow shared MH17 radar images, Dutch probe ignored evidence, Russia tells victims relatives Moscow provided the Netherlands with radar and other data on the MH17 crash but it has all been ignored, a Russian aviation official said, responding to the relatives of Dutch victims who recently wrote to President Vladimir Putin. Oleg Storchevoy, the deputy head of Rosaviatsia, the agency representing Russia in the Malaysia Airlines flight MH17 crash investigation, has personally addressed the relatives of the victims in a lengthy letter. Desperate for answers that would shed the light on who fired the BUK missile that allegedly hit the passenger plane on July 17, 2014, and dissatisfied with the slow-moving Dutch probe, the relatives have turned to the heads of several states, including Russias. On January 22, they sent a letter to Putin, asking about the primary data from radars and satellites, which they think is crucial. "We did not impose any conditions or restrictions regarding further use and disclosure of radar data, records of phone conversations and other data we submitted to the Dutch Safety Board (DSB) at its request. Moreover, Russia has stored all that data to this day, and is willing to provide it once again to the relevant authorities," said Storchevoy. In mid-January, the relatives wrote to Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte, demanding a global campaign to obtain radar images that could help identify those responsible for the death of their loved ones. We cant accept that people have refused to provide crucial information, they wrote. Only radar data available is Russias While the Russian authorities were not involved in controlling the fatal flight, they still soon became de-facto participants of the investigation due to the unique information obtained from radars in Rostov-on-Don, a Russian city not far from the Ukrainian border. "I would like to stress that Russia disclosed all of its available satellite data in the days immediately following the crash," said Storchevoy. Rosaviatsias deputy head stressed that the Russian radar data was the only such data available to the Dutch investigators, as it appeared that Ukraines radar stations for unknown reasons were not functioning on July 17. Neither did Ukrainian authorities have any backup system to maintain flight safety in the military zone. Dutch report ignored Russias data Having provided the radar data and phone records requested by the Dutch, Russia has never prohibited the Netherlands from either sharing with other states or publishing the information generally, Storchevoy said. However, this evidence appears not to have been reflected in the Dutch Safety Boards (DSB) final report, released in October. Russia is still ready to provide the same data, which it collects in video files in accordance with domestic regulations, to any authorized parties. Moscow has also published the satellite images from July 2014 that showed Ukrainian BUK missile systems maneuvering in the conflict zone close to the site of the crash. It had handed the same images over to the DSB. However, this evidence has been ignored as well. "This data confirms, among other things, that there was movement and increased activity by Ukrainian Buk surface-to-air missile systems observed within the conflict area in Eastern Ukraine one day ahead of the tragedy," Storchevoy mentioned. "Russia shared that information with the Dutch Safety Board, but once its final report was released, it turned out the DSB had chosen not to consider Russian satellite data or even include them in the report," he added. Read more here: https://www.rt.com/news/331833-mh17-dutch-probe-ignore/
