If Russia wanted to establish the truth, they would simply cooperate with the investigation to the extent that they were asked to.
All evidence indicates it was Russia that deployed to Ukraine a Buk missile launcher, which shot down Malaysian Airlines flight MH17 from the sky over the occupied Donbas in 2014.
That's according to Christo Grozev of the Bellingcat investigative project, who was part of the team that collected key information about the MH17 downing, DW reports.
"We've seen so much mutually confirmed evidence that in general there's no other explanation other than the fact that Russia provided the weapon with which the plane was shot down and 298 people were killed. There's no doubt now, we've seen even more evidence than those presented in court," the journalist said, as quoted by DW in the report published in Ukrainian.
According to the journalist, the investigators studied every available piece of telecom data, satellite imagery, publications across social networks posted by the Russian military, including from an anti-aircraft missile brigade that could transport the Buk launcher.
"If Russia sought to establish the truth, they would simply cooperate with the investigation to the extent that they was asked to. But they still refuse," Grozev explained.
Thus, the JIT and the judges asked Russia to assist in the interrogation of servicemen with the 53rd Brigade, as well as two military from the 5th Brigade, so that they had an opportunity to deny charges pressed against Moscow, Grozev noted.
"The Russian Federation remains silent on this matter, not providing such access. Russia continues to assert that they have been held out of the investigation, not given the opportunity to contribute, but at the same time they don't comply with such data inquiries," the journalist concluded.
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