A high ranking Russian security officer has been named as a key figure in the investigation into the downing of Malaysia Airlines Flight MH17 in 2014, which happened amid a conflict in eastern Ukraine, after Russian-backed rebels seized the area.
The plane was shot down with a Russian-made Buk missile by pro-Russian rebels in eastern Ukraine, and resulted in the death of 298 civilians, two-thirds of which were Dutch. A Dutch court began criminal proceedings against them last month. Investigators say they have proof the Buk missile system came from a military base in Russia.
Three Russians and one Ukrainian are charged with multiple counts of murder over the downing of the plane. All suspects are believed to be in Russia. If convicted, the suspects could face sentences of up to life in prison. However, they are unlikely to be extradited, as Russia’s constitution does not permit the extradition of its own nationals.
A report published jointly by the investigative website Bellingcat and the Russian news site The Insider on April 28 said that Colonel General Andrei Burlaka, of Russia’s Federal Security Service, is one of the Russian officials whose calls with separatist militia leaders in eastern Ukraine were intercepted and recorded.
Bellingcat said the official was “in a crucial position to supervise the movement of weapons from Russia to Ukraine, and thus would have had to authorise the transfer of the Russian Buk missile launcher that shot the Malaysian airliner after crossing the border”.
It also said Burlaka is only two steps in the chain of command away from FSB head Alexander Bortnikov, who answers directly to Russia’s president Vladimir Putin.
Moscow has denied any involvement in the downing of the flight.
