After all the distractions, it's time to return to the subject of this thread : Russia.
Let me address the issues that fell between the cracks in first-come-first-serve-order.
First one is that Russian Defense Ministry press-conference about MH17 from last week. Here it is again :
Now, there are two parts to this press conference.
The first 12 minutes presents documents regarding the missile that shot down MH17. In particular, there is one "top-secret" document that cannot leave Russia, which shows some numbers that they say shows that the missile was shipped to Ukraine in 1986, suggesting that Ukraine launched the missile.
Now let's think about that for a second.
Four years of evidence collecting by the JIT and the Dutch Safety Board, and yes, instrumental reports from countless video and picture evidence analyzed by open source journalists like Bellingcat, which ALL suggest that the missile system was brought in from the 53rd Brigade in Kursk, and launched from a Russian controlled field south of Snizhne, and the only thing the Russians present in return is a page of a book which is supposedly "top secret" and cannot leave Russia.
Russia understands that to be credible, they would have to not just present their "top-secret" document putting the blame on Ukraine, but they also would have to debunk ALL the evidence that the JIT and the Dutch Safety Board presented. That's where the remainder of the video comes in, and I'd like to show how pathetic the Russian argument is.
At 12:30 they claim that a highly qualified top Russian experts found that the videos that the JIT presented are falsified.
As their first exhibit, they show the JIT video of the BUK (which was geo-located to be in Donetsk).
At 13:38 they show that the linear perspective lines of the BUK don't end up on the horizon, but end up below it. That they claim is proof that the video was falsified.
However, a much easier explanation is that the BUK was not 'level' on the low-loader.
The following picture is also from Donetsk, geo-located a few streets away from the video location. taken a few hours before the video, and it clearly shows that the BUK is titling forward, because the front wheel is sitting in a dip in the low loader :
Source of the image :
https://www.politie.nl/binaries/standaard/content/gallery/politie/onderwerpen/themas/mh17_buk-telar_onbewerkt-768x768.jpgThat explains not just why the the Russian argument is bogus, but it also shows that the Russians would have to explain and debunk more forensic evidence than just a few videos.
Second exhibit is a video that was geo-located to Makiivka.
At 15:25 they seem to think that the top of the truck cabin "disappears" contrary to some white surfaces on the side, when it drives through a shadow, and they say that is an indication that the video is fabricated.
However, there is a very simple explanation for this effect : The top of the truck cabin is not white as they seem to suggest, but a shiny black cover that is supposed to reflect sunlight, which of course turns dark when they drive through a shadow. You can see that clearly in this close up picture of the truck cabin :
Source of the image :
http://www.whathappenedtoflightmh17.com/recently-discovered-video-clearly-shows-volvo-truck-and-lowloader-with-phonenumber-on-yellow-sign/Not to mention that this video from Makiivka coincided with a satellite picture taken at almost the same time, which you can actually see on Google Earth if you were willing to check the truth !
https://www.bellingcat.com/news/uk-and-europe/2016/06/22/new-google-earth-satellite-update-confirms-presence-of-buk-in-eastern-ukraine/And then the Russians don't even address the implication of their statement (of the missile shipment to Ukraine) on launch location.
Should I could go on ?
It should be clear by now that the Russian MoD is grasping at straws in trying to find any, ANY sort of argument, no matter how easy to debunk, against the massive amount of evidence that the forensic experts from the MH17 JIT and the Dutch Safety Board have collected, verified and presented. That MH17 was shot down by a BUK missile system from the 53rd brigade from Kursk, and launched from a Russian controlled field just south of Snizhne. Just like Bellingcat already concluded in September 2014.
Neven said :
So, again, my problem with Bellingcat is its obvious bias, and thus the way the evidence is framed. It is not science.
Please tell me where is the "bias" and "the way the evidence is framed" in Bellingcat's and others geo-location and timing of these (and many other) pictures and videos, and satellite images, of this BUK from the 53rd brigade in Kursk driving through Russian controlled Eastern Ukraine ?