Moscow-Contacted Rebels Charged with Downing MH17: Investigators
Arthur T Knackerbracket has found the following story:
Phone intercepts show rebels accused of shooting down the plane had 'close ties' with Russia before the 2014 attack.
A series of phone intercepts released by a team investigating the 2014 downing of Malaysia Airlines flight MH17 over Ukraine show ties between Moscow and the pro-Russian rebels accused of shooting down the aircraft were "much closer" than originally believed, investigators said.
The Dutch-lead Joint Investigation Team (JIT) said calls between officials in Moscow and pro-Russian rebel leaders in eastern Ukraine, who are facing trial over the incident, intensified before the crash in July of 2014, raising questions over Russia's involvement in providing the missile used to down the plane.
"There was almost daily telephone contact between the leadership of the DPR and their contacts in the Russian Federation," JIT said in a statement on Thursday, using the acronym of the Donetsk People's Republic rebels. The calls mostly took place over secure phones provided by Russian security forces, it said.
All 298 people on board died when MH17 was shot out of the sky over the territory held by pro-Russian separatists in eastern Ukraine as it flew from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur.
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