MH17 plane crash: a surprise twist for Ukraine

The majority of Dutch MPs in the lower house of parliament support the idea of investigating Ukraine’s role in Malaysia Boeing downing over Donbas in 2014. Members of Parliament call on to the government for taking every opportunity available to “fully investigate the facts” concerning Ukraine. It is the Christian Democratic Appeal (CDA) and the Socialist Party (SP) deputies, supported by other political forces, who insist on the investigation most of all.

It was not until five years plus have passed that the parliamentarians finally saw the light: Ukraine should have closed the airspace over the area of hostilities. So far, the Netherlands government has not taken any actions in respect to Ukraine. However, the House of Representatives wants to break the ice. "Memories are fading, data is being lost", says CDA parliamentarian Chris van Dam.

According to MP Mykhil van Nispen, “the role of Ukraine is unclear, even though this country was supposed to shut down airspace”. He believes it is necessary to conduct an additional investigation in order to find the truth and justice in this affair. The initiative contradicts to Dutch government’s official stance, as it has agreed with Australia that Russia is the only party to be held responsible for the downing.

Notably, Dutch Minister of Foreign Affairs Stef Blok says they “don't see any reason for it [investigation] legally”.What makes it difficult is the need of “Russian cooperation”, he remarks, which is another manifestation of how biased the over-tolerant Dutch authorities may be towards facts.

There seem to be several motives that have induced Dutch parliamentarians to launch their own investigation. First, according to a polling survey held this year among the victims’ relatives, 87.5% of respondents believe that in the long run, Ukraine should be held responsible for MH17 downing. Second, Malaysia has taken an independent stand. It is based on its own investigation which even included commandos’ infiltration in the crash area and collection of evidence. Malaysia refuses to accept the unfounded statements of the Netherlands and Australia, believing that the two states are under the US political pressure. Third, what put the Dutch officials on alert was the disturbingly easy release of Volodymyr Tsemakh, a former military of Donetsk People's Republic (DNR) who had been abducted by Ukraine’s security services. Ukraine has long claimed that he is the “crown witness” of the accident.

Some Dutch mass media (NOS, for instance), consider the release of Tsemakh to be a lost opportunity to “learn the truth”, as the “crown witness” had been in the clutches of Ukraine’s investigators for two months before the prisoners’ swap took place. The Nieuwsuur TV channel has made a documentary about Tsemakh and MH17 which offers laymen a convincing story that Russia is “highly likely” to blame for the crash of Malaysia Boeing. The “crown witness” release has upset the plans of the “evident” crash theory advocates, inducing Dutch parliamentarians to launch their own investigation. Some even claim that Tsemakh’s release is “an unfriendly act on the part of Ukraine”.

Political scientist Vladimir Kornilov who used to live in the Netherlands for some years says: “I listened to all debates in the Dutch parliament very attentively yesterday. Actually, it’s a wonderful topic. Do you know why Dutch parliamentarians, all factions, suddenly and virtually unanimously became aware that Ukraine was bound to have its finger in the pie? Because they are upset over the release of Tsemakh, a DNR militant who was first abducted by Ukraine and then returned home after a prisoners’ swap. Just look at the Western parliamentarians’ approach to justice: “Ukraine used to be our ally, that is why we could not act in this way”, Foreign Affairs Minister Stef Blok explains, while the deputies respond: “Now it’s all over, Ukraine violates our agreements, it has destroyed the only proof that the investigation team had”, and it all results in a unanimous decision of the Parliament. Now the government, as soon as possible, is obliged to investigate why Ukraine had not closed the airspace, though it had to do so”.

“The Parliament has encharged the government to present the investigation results in the shortest possible time. Among other, it is sure to be included in the Boeing case proceedings”, the expert adds.

Ukrainian mass media holding a guarding position give little comment on the Dutch parliament’s beginning to investigate Malaysia Boeing downing. Still, there is some anxiety that leaks through the comments, for sooner or later the details of crime will become clear and somebody will have to be liable for it. They mostly show regrets, “Why should we be blamed? The Boss has told you: Russia is to blame for the crash, so dig up on it”.

Russian Foreign Affairs Ministry has previously made a statement claiming that Joint investigation team of MH17 flight downing over the area of hostilities in Donbas fudges data to make them agree with the verdict which had been prepared in advance. Moscow has repeatedly said that the Joint team ignores the results of Russia’s own investigation. Thus, it refuses to take notice of the fact that the missile which shot down MH17 had belonged to Ukraine since as early as 1987. In its turn, Kyiv is a full member of the international investigation team, having the opportunity to distort and interpret investigation results for its benefit.

Without exaggeration, the results of voting in the Dutch lower House of parliament are very significant, as the Netherlands plays a key role in investigating the accident, and the Joint team is actually Dutch - led. Let us remind you that for more than five years, far from assisting in the investigation, Ukraine has been trying to throw obstacles in the way. For instance, they failed to provide their radar data on MH17 downing, despite the fact that at the moment of crash, the flight was being tracked by Ukraine’s radars and anti-aircraft defence system, while Ukrainian dispatchers were controlling the flight.

Ukraine failed to give a clear account of events. First, the officials responsible explained that radar data had been immediately sent to the Netherlands Security Council (OVV), then they said the Netherlands had not required such data, and later Ukraine claimed that Dnipro radar was out of order at the time of the crash. However, on July 17, 2014, Russian Defense Ministry recorded Ukraine’s land-based tracking systems activity.,

The Boeing incident is evidently becoming tough for Kyiv, and it threatens to become another big problem for Volodymir Zelensky in terms of foreign policy. Whether the Dutch parliamentarians’ decision is connected with the recent meeting between Volodymir Zelensky and Donald Trump, is just anybody’s guess. Notably, at this meeting US President recommended that his Ukrainian counterpart should come to terms with Russia.

Dmitry Kulikov, a political scientist and a TV presenter, believes the Netherlands may soon surprise Ukraine’s leaders again. “As soon as they start considering the role of Ukraine [in the accident], a question will arise: where are the Dnipro radar data and air traffic control data? This question is bound to emerge, and that’s where the show will begin”, says Kulikov.