A testimony to be considered
December 28, 2014The following text is the English translation of the interview which a secret witness gave to journalists of Komsomolskaya Pravda. This is one more variant of the narrative that Ukraine shot down Malaysian Boing flight MH17, competing with Western claims that pro-Russian separatists shot it down with a BUK missile.
The story is partly incompatible with another version that is based on the use of a fighter jets machine gun and evidence of 30mm bullet holes in the fuselage and bullet fragments found in the bodies of the pilots.
The crucial point of the story is the alleged shot down of two Ukrainian fighter jets. The SU-25 with the air-to-air missiles could have accompanied these two airplanes just in case a Russian fighter jet would come across and when the planes crashed Captain Vladislav Voloshin maybe panicked and aimed at the Boing without checking if this was indeed a military aircraft.
The Ukrainian air force reported the loss of a Sukhoi SU-25M1 on July 16 in the Ukrainian-Russian border region and the loss of a Sukhoi SU-25M1 on July 23 in Shakhtarks. If witnesses would come forward to confirm that these crashes occurred on July 17 it would be a very strong proof of this story.
The SBU (Security Service of Ukraine) has acknowledged that pilot Vladislav Voloshin is serving in Ukraine’s Armed Forces at Aviatorske airport near Dnipropetrosk. Three days after the tragedy, the pilot received the Order of Bohdan Khmelnytsky, Third Class, for courage and heroism, from Ukrainian President Pedro Poroshenko.
Vladimir Markin, spokesman for Russia’s Investigative Committee into MH17 told at a press briefing: “The facts were reported by the witness clearly and with no inconsistencies. The investigators lean towards considering them truthful. A polygraph examination confirmed them too.” He urged Dutch and Malaysian experts to interview pilot Voloshin using a polygraph.
The anonymous witness is likely to be taken into protective custody in Russia because his life may be threatened.
On December 19 Vasily Vovk, Head of the SBU’s Central Investigation Department told at a briefing in Kiev that an air-to-air missile could not be ruled out.
The video of the interview in Russian is at
http://www.kp.ru/daily/26323.5/3204312/
Translation:
This man came to the editorial office of “Komsomolskaya Pravda” by himself. We checked his papers — he is not an actor and not a fake person. We cannot yet reveal his personal information — he still has relatives in Ukraine and is afraid of revenge and blackmail. Judging by what Alexander (let’s name him that) told us, the fear is substantiated. We provide a transcript of our conversation virtually uncut:
– Where were you on July 17, 2014, the day Malaysian Boeing was shot down?
– I was on the territory of Ukraine, in the city of Dnepropetrovsk, the village Aviatorskoye. It is a regular airport. There at this time were based fighter jets and helicopters. Planes regularly flew on bombing missions, Su-25 attack aircraft bombed Donetsk, Lugansk. This lasted a long time.
– The aircrafts flew every day?
– Daily.
– Why did you assume that these airplanes could be related to the downing of the “Boeing”?
– A few reasons. Out of the eight airplanes, which were based there, only two had “air-to-air” missiles. They were suspended.
– Why? Were there any aircraft battles in the air?
– No, the aircraft was fitted with missiles to cover themselves in the air. Just in case. Mostly they had air-to-ground ammunition. NURS, bombs.
-Tell us about July 17.
– Airplanes flew regularly. All day since the morning. In the afternoon, about an hour before the downing of the “Boeing”, three attack fighters were raised into the air. I don’t remember the exact time. One of the airplanes was equipped with such missiles. It was a Su-25.
– Have you personally seen it?
– Yes.
– Where was your vantage point?
– On site. Cannot tell you exactly.
– Did you have an opportunity to see specifically what the pylons of the aircraft where fitted with? Could you confuse “air-to-air” and “air-to-ground” missiles?
– No, I couldn’t confuse it. They vary in size, plumage, coloration. With a guidance head. Very easy to recognize. Anyway, after a short time, only one airplane returned, two were shot down. Somewhere in the East of Ukraine, I was told. The airplane that came back, was the one with those suspended missiles.
– It returned without the missiles?
– Without the missiles. That pilot was very scared.
– Do you know this pilot, have you seen him?
– Yes.
– Can you tell us his name?
– Last name Voloshin.
– Was he alone in the airplane?
– Yes. The airplane is designed for one person.
– Do you know his name?
– Vladislav, I think. Don’t remember exactly. Captain.
– Captain Voloshin came back. What happened next?
– Came back with blank ammunition.
– No missiles left?
– Yes.
– Could you tell us, Alexander, the airplane came back from the mission, you still do not know about the loss of the “Boeing”, but you were somehow surprised by the absence of “air-to-air” missiles. Why?
– These “air-to-air” missiles are not included in the basic ammunition package.
They are used only with a special order. Typically, the aircraft with such rockets were not to allowed into the air. Because this missiles should not be frequently transported in the air.
In all two such missiles can fit on this plane. Never before they had been applied. They were written off previously. But literally on the eve, a week before this incident (the loss of “Boeing” – Ed.) the use of these missiles was urgently renewed. And they put again into service. They have not been used for many years.
– Why?
– They were expired. Made back in the Soviet years. But by the urgent order their expiration date was extended.
– And on this day they were put on the plane?
– They always stood with these missiles.
– But didn’t fly?
– Tried to let them in the air less frequently — every flight depletes the resource. But on this day, the plane flew.
– And came back without them?
– Yes. Knowing this pilot a little bit… (quite possibly, when the other two airplanes were shot down in front of him), he just had a frightened reaction, inadequate. Could out of fright or in revenge launch the missiles into a Boeing. Maybe he took it for some other combat aircraft.
– Are these missiles with self-guiding heads?
– Yes.
– When he launched them, they began to look for a target?
– No. The pilot himself finds the target. Then launches the missile, and it flies at the target.
– Could the pilot use these missiles against ground targets?
– It’s pointless.
– What else do you remember this day? What did the pilot say?
– He said a phrase, when he was lead out of the airplane: “It was not the right plane.” And in the evening there was a phrase to a question from one pilot to him, to Voloshin: “What’s up with the plane?” To which he replied: “The plane was in the wrong place at the wrong time.”
– Did this pilot serve there for a long time? How old is he?
– Voloshin is about 30 years old. His base is in Nikolaev. They were transferred to Dnepropetrovsk. Before they were sent to Chuguev near Kharkov. And all this time they bombed Donetsk and Lugansk. And, according to one of the officers of the Nikolaev base, they still continue to do so.
– Did the pilots have good combat experience?
– Those who were there, had experience. Nikolaev base was even one year, in my opinion, 2013, the best base in Ukraine.
– Was the story about the “Boeing” discussed among the pilots?
– All attempts to discuss were immediately stopped. And the pilots mostly talked among themselves only, they are so… stuck-up…
– After everyone learned about this “Boeing” what happened to this pilot, captain Voloshin?
– After all of this flights continued. And the pilots did not rotate. The same faces.
– Let’s try to recap the events. How could it develop? Three airplanes left on a combat mission. They were roughly in the same area, as Boeing. Two airplanes were shot down. This captain Voloshin was nervous, got scared, and possibly he mistook the Boeing for combat aircraft?
– Possible. The distance was long, he may have not seen specifically what kind of aircraft.
– What distance do these missiles need?
– At 3-5 kilometers they can find the target.
– And what is the speed difference between combat aircraft and the Boeing?
– No difference: the rockets have pretty good speed. Very fast rocket.
– Will catch up anyway? And height?
– It may easily at its maximum altitude – to 7 thousand meters – quite easily focus on the target.
– To reach it higher?
– Yes. The aircraft can simply lift the nose up, and can find the target with no problems and launch the rocket. The range of this missile is more than 10 kilometers.
– At what distance from the target does this rocket explodes? Does it hit the fuselage and explodes?
– Depending on the modification. Literally could when it hits the body or at a distance of 500 meters.
– We worked at the crash site and noticed that the fragments were trapped in the hull of the aircraft very closely. It seemed like it exploded literally two feet away from the Boeing.
– There is such a missile. The principle of fragments – it breaks, and the fragments hit. And then hits the main warhead of the rocket.
– Ukraine announced that on this day they had no combat flights. We checked different aggregate sources on the downed airplanes, Ukraine denied everywhere that its military aircraft flew on this day.
– I know about this. Ukraine also announced that two of these airplanes were shot down on the 16th, and not the 17th. And many times the date was changed. But actually, the flights were on a daily basis. I saw it myself. Even during the ceasefire there were flights, although, less frequent.
– What ammunition was on the aircraft at your airfield? Were phosphorus bombs used, incendiary devices? Ukrainian artillery used it very actively on the ground.
– I didn’t see phosphorus bombs. But space-detonating bombs were used.
– Are they prohibited?
– Yes. This bomb was intended for Afghanistan. It was prohibited and was not used until lately. It was prohibited by some Convention, I do not remember, can’t say. This bomb is inhumane, burns everything. Burns absolutely everything.
– They were attached and used during hostilities?
– Yes. And there were also banned cluster bombs. Aircraft cluster bomb – depending on size can hit a very ambitious target. One bomb covers a stadium. Entirely, the whole entire area – two hectares.
– Why did they use such weapons?
– They were following orders. And whose order is unclear.
– What’s the point of such weapons – scare tactic?
– Maximum annihilation of manpower
– Why did you go to Russia, why decided to tell? Why, finally, no one learned this before? You’re not the only witness!
– Everyone is intimidated by the SBU (Security Service of Ukraine. – Ed.) and the National Guard. People can be beaten for every careless word, jailed on any insignificant suspicion of sympathies towards Russia or the militia. I was initially against this “anti-terrorist operation”. Did not agree with the policy of the Ukrainian state. The civil war is wrong. To kill your own people is not normal. And to take some part in it or not, but to be on the Ukrainian side and to be partially involved in this, I don’t want to in the first place!
Joost Niemoller
Preamble: Since I started with critical publications about MH17, I have been in contact with some relatives of the victims. It has become clear to me that, contrary to what the media show us, they criticize the way the authorities deal with them. Especially the inadequate information providing by the authorities raises many questions. Some of them get the feeling that there might be other causes of the attack than Main Stream Media reports: supposedly a separatist shot a missile by accident.
It goes without saying that most relatives of the victims prefer to remain anonymous. I have personally checked them out and I am convinced of their authenticity. Moreover, I do not want to encourage them to go public because the attack itself has already caused enormous personal impact, and publicity would possibly increase it. In two cases, I published the stories of the victims’ relatives about their first meeting with Malaysia Airlines. That was also after I was convinced of their authenticity, and it was anonymous too.
One of them has decided to share an open letter, which is set out below. She writes under the name Hana333
January 6, 2015. Original letter on De Nieuwe Realist by Hana333
“Every day I am glued to my PC to read as much as possible about the MH17 crash. Part of this is also following the articles of Joost. What gives me comfort as to the relative of killed passengers is that there are still people who care about the real events behind the crash. It is not relevant for me which position one takes. With all the non-investigation by who knows whom it is really logic that opinions are and will always be different. Although I read a lot of external information and opinions, my personal cognisance and experience in this matter are very important for me, and nobody can contest or take them away from me. Simply because nobody else has this information, but my family and, personally, me.
From my perspective as a victim’s relative, I want to share my story with you as with mainly smart and intelligent people. I have waited long enough until I am concerned. I do not want to get involved in a political yes-or-no game, simply because I was not personally involved in the investigation in Ukraine, and because I am an apolitical person. Politics is something I simply do not understand, and I consider it to my benefit that there is simply no place for politics in my ideal world.
As you might be able to imagine, as a victim’s relative, I got into a wave of dismay, disbelief, chaos, sadness, denial, anger, and everything else that comes along. You can call it a state of shock. This kind of makes you handicapped and you are no longer able to react adequately. In such a situation, there is no alternative but to expect the government to support and take care of you as a child of the nation, and protect your interests as though you were its own child. None of this appears to be true to me!
When I was finally able to free myself of such emotional fog, which the government exaggerated (deliberately) during the “Nationale Verdenking,” it was November 11! I realized for the second time during this year that I had been trapped in a Kafkaesque situation in which the victim was actually responsible for an adequate investigation, because those who were formally responsible and were paid for that, were not doing it for whatever reasons. It happened for the first time after my daughter had undergone an almost lethal attack by a pack of 11 dogs of one breeder, and for the second time after the crash of MH17 in which my relatives had been lost. The similarity of both cases is striking.
One is clear beyond any doubt: both cases are horrible, but what happened afterwards was even worse. That one, even as a relative of victims, is being misled by the government, and being lied to without receiving proper information about the real causes and events, results in immense psychological damage, for which there is no compensation. You get this without even asking for it — free of charge! That it is impossible to process the horrible events under these circumstances does not seem to matter to the government. That the government also has an obligation to provide care to its citizens does not seem to have been registered.
Actually, the government is abusing the emotional state in which the relatives find themselves. In addition, the government purposefully leaves room for all kinds of speculations by which the discontent and disagreement between the people only increases. And last but not least, when you finally, even as a relative of the victims, start to ask critical questions about the investigation, the same government keeps you at arm’s length and treats you as a conspiracy theorists or even as a perpetrator.
The year 2015 appears to be a good one to finally expunge the word “secret” from our vocabulary. Only complete openness and transparency can lift us, as humanity, on to a higher plane. This has been my conviction for a long time and the fact that, thus far, I did not go public about MH17 has nothing to do with secrecy but solely with my inability, so far, to collect the energy to make things clear. The emotional fog has disappeared by now but my emotions continue messing me up every day.
These are my personal experiences and questions after the MH17 crash. I am convinced that there is much more to it than what we know for now, and this has made me very skeptical about both the investigation itself and those who are supposed to be conducting it, even more so towards the supposed future outcome of this all.
The day before the cremation of our relative, we received the belongings which were found alongside their body. It was a wallet with cards and money, soaked in a strange smelling chemical, a somewhat greasy substance. In addition there was a metal object which, at the time, back in September 2014, we were not able to identify. None of us had ever seen anything like it before and we were not able to relate it in any way to our family member. Only during the journey back from the National Memorial did I take a closer look at this object again. At the bottom was engraved: VARCO 2630. When I researched this it turned out to be part used in the oil industry. An employee of the manufacturer told me that these objects were also used during the 1980s as business gifts (as paper-weights) by people in the oil industry. In any case it was not something which belonged to our family member prior to the flight. The object weighs about eighty-five grams and is certainly an odd object to be carrying with you in your trousers on your way to a sunny vacation; particularly if you want to avoid unnecessary issues with the metal detectors at the airport.
When I searched the internet with the keywords “MH17” and “oil”, I received another shock because this was the moment when I realized what the outside world has been doing so far. Until now, I continued reading and informing my family. I also discovered that many people, including friends, see this as “not my cup of tea.” That there is much more behind the crash than just a conflict between two parties appears to escape the attention of the masses. And people just do not want to know. It is more than most people can endure.
What also shocked me was a film clip from an interview about pictures taken by a witness who was at the crash site twenty minutes after the crash. It was not the pictures themselves that shocked me, but the statement by the witness about the typical smell which, at a particular part of the wreckage, was unbearable, sent a shiver down my spine. When she described the smell my mind flashed back to the crematorium. According to the undertaker and the detectives the smell was so strong despite the specially sealed coffins and anti-odour candles because there had been too much “material” to avoid decomposition used in Ukraine during the recovery of the bodies. It was also mentioned that this was caused by specially prepared body bags. My immediate question was: how is this possible? The penetrating smell was already noted twenty minutes after the crash. Were there spray trucks already available at that moment?
From this I came to my next question: what cargo was the plane carrying? I have not found any information regarding this. Until now we have also not received any other belongings. “No, these will be cleaned first.” Nobody bothered to ask us if we wanted the belongings to be cleaned. Presented as “caring for the relatives,” this could be used to remove all kinds of evidence! Or am I being too suspicious?
After the cremation more remains have been found which, of course, also must be cremated. We received papers on which the remains were registered. By signing these papers we would part from the remains of our relative and would authorize that they be cremated along with the remains of other victims. There would also be a commemorative monument connected with this. We decided to postpone signing. A few days later I realized that we had not received any copies of these documents so I enquired if we could be sent them. From the ongoing case about my daughter I have learned that a good filing system and administration are the foundations of obtaining justice. This made me think about what a good friend always tells me: “Do you know how the Germans almost won the war? By having a good administration!” Anyway, there was no positive response to my “odd question” of obtaining copies of the documents and even now we have not received any answer. I do not think I have to explain in detail to you smart and intelligent people how this approach has caused additional agitation and suspicion, and increased the emotional burden even further.
A few weeks ago, the money that we received in the wallet and which we then sent by special service of the Dutch Postal Service to the Dutch Bank has simply disappeared?!?!
There are additional questions which keep going through my mind:
Why was there no immediate response with a large rescue team as there was in the case of the QZ8501 crash? “Safety issues” in the area of the crash site is the cheapest excuse I have ever heard. Had they really wanted, they would have found a way. If they would have used all the money and all the security that was used for the “Nationale Verdenking”, beginning with the very ostentatious invitation cards, for an immediate investigation on-site, there would have been no shooting and shelling of the crash site. Anyone who might have tried that would have been caught red handed…
Or is it the case that the cargo of MH17 was not ‘kosher’ and therefore the investigation had to be kept at a distance from the very beginning?
The enormous delays in starting the investigation are completely out of proportion to the swift response of the government to a letter sent in December 2014 by a lawyer who, on behalf of some relatives of the victims, has challenged the competency of the Dutch government.
The fact that the government never apologized for their accusations against Russia, made without any kind of evidence in the immediate aftermath of the crash, disgusts me. We are all human beings and human beings make mistakes from which we can learn something. Owning up to having made a mistake and apologizing for it would have been a correct and humane gesture. However, after intense indoctrination (the first two reports about a topic make a lasting impression unless we consciously inform ourselves further — this is basic psychology), there was a sudden veil of secrecy and an attitude of ‘let the world be damned.’Any protests by citizens about censorship and secrecy by the government are rejected out of hand, supposedly out of consideration for the families of the victims. Does the government not realize that their extreme vagueness about the investigation and the resulting unrest and speculations are causing much more harm?
A few more questions which keep bothering me: Maybe I have missed something but is it not the case that MH17 had already changed its scheduled course over Poland? What was the reason behind this? And what was the real and important reason that Malaysia was not involved in the investigation from the beginning? One could not have harmed this country more under the circumstances. What about those NATO fighter planes in Poland? Why is everyone so sure that there was not a bomb on board? There are so many considerations and questions about the crash, maybe even more, since I have not been able to read everything.
I have been looking for answers but will honest answers ever be given? Joost may know, as far as I am concerned—by which I am not saying that I always agree with his view. But his views show depth, they invite you to contemplate the information he provides and they allow you to form your own opinion, something which is our common birthright.
I wish you all a year full of truth, honest cooperation, healthy tolerance and immense happiness.”
Hana333
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