Crisis in the Ukraine

[delft]

The Dutch prime minister Rutte has said that because of the increased dangers on the crash site the search for bodies and body parts is stopped. The suggestion is that the Ukrainian regime will control the site in a week or week and a half time. At that time a last effort will be made .There is no talk at all about collecting evidence about the crash itself.

The agricultural sector in The Netherlands feels itself to be in trouble because of the Russian boycott of European fruit and vegetables.

Yesterday there was talk about airlines from sanctioning countries being excluded from crossing Russian airspace. It would cost those airlines EUR 300 million a year in extra fuel to fly around Russia on flights between Europe and Asia while it would cost Russia the monies that are now paid by these airlines. But the airlines from other countries will still use Russian airspace and they will provide shorter travel times and perhaps lower ticket prices so they will damage the European airlines and compensate Russia with their payment increase. Russia would not cry if Air France-KLM were to disappear.

 

[thunderchief]

Malaysian newspaper New Straits Times claims that MH-17 was shoot down by air-to-air missile and cannon fire :

MH17: Pockmarks look like from very, very heavy machine gun fire, says first OSCE monitor on-scene

KUALA LUMPUR: INTELLIGENCE analysts in the United States had already concluded that Malaysia Airlines flight MH17 was shot down by an air-to-air missile, and that the Ukrainian government had had something to do with it.

This corroborates an emerging theory postulated by local investigators that the Boeing 777-200 was crippled by an air-to-air missile and finished off with cannon fire from a fighter that had been shadowing it as it plummeted to earth.

In a damning report dated Aug 3, headlined “Flight 17 Shoot-Down Scenario Shifts”, Associated Press reporter Robert Parry said “some US intelligence sources had concluded that the rebels and Russia were likely not at fault and that it appears Ukrainian government forces were to blame”.

This new revelation was posted on GlobalResearch, an independent research and media organisation.

In a statement released by the Ukrainian embassy on Tuesday, Kiev denied that its fighters were airborne during the time MH17 was shot down. This follows a statement released by the Russian Defence Ministry that its air traffic control had detected Ukrainian Air Force activity in the area on the same day.

They also denied all allegations made by the Russian government and said the country’s core interest was in ensuring an immediate, comprehensive, transparent and unbiased international investigation into the tragedy by establishing a state commission comprising experts from the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) and Eurocontrol.

“We have evidence that the plane was downed by Russian-backed terrorist with a BUK-M1 SAM system (North Atlantic Treaty Organisation reporting name SA-11) which, together with the crew, had been supplied from Russia. This was all confirmed by our intelligence, intercepted telephone conversations of the terrorists and satellite pictures.

“At the same time, the Ukrainian Armed Forces have never used any anti-aircraft missiles since the anti-terrorist operations started in early April,” the statement read...................................

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[SampanViking]

Thanks Thunderchief

We are seeing the momentum behind the Russian based version of events gain quite a bit of momentum and that the story should be given prominent space by a major Malaysian daily is significant.
If Malaysia does come to officially blame the Ukraine for the shoot down, it would change everything. Do you get a sense that they are starting to get tired of losing airliners in very mysterious circumstances?

The big story today is Russia's retaliatory sanctions, targeting all agricultural products from the US, EU and some other aligned nations (to include things like McDonalds or Coca Cola?).

Also coming no doubt will be a full ban on Western Airlines transiting Russian Airspace.

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Very different strategy from the Western Sanctions against Russia, as looking to create popular discontent rather than targeting the elites. It seems that Eastern Europe will bear the brunt of much of this. A classic case of beware what you wish for I suppose.

RT carries a story about more violence in Maidan as National Guard attempt to clear the square

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This story started to build a couple of days ago when the Mayor of Kiev basically said that Maidan was over and they should all go home.

The other story of interest is from yesterday and concerns diplomatic argy bargy over Russian exercises and Peace Keeping. All from Tass

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Lastly a story that really does make the US media look less than savoury.
On Tuesday, the Russians offered to take Western Journalists to meet and talk to the 400 Ukrainian troops that crossed the border on Monday. Only Bloomberg sent anyone.........

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[solarz]

Yesterday there was talk about airlines from sanctioning countries being excluded from crossing Russian airspace. It would cost those airlines EUR 300 million a year in extra fuel to fly around Russia on flights between Europe and Asia while it would cost Russia the monies that are now paid by these airlines. But the airlines from other countries will still use Russian airspace and they will provide shorter travel times and perhaps lower ticket prices so they will damage the European airlines and compensate Russia with their payment increase. Russia would not cry if Air France-KLM were to disappear.

This could be very big. Direct flights from North American East Coast to China passes through the Arctic, and subsequently the Russian airspace. Going back to the 90's way of flying east-west would add 8 hours to the trip. Fortunately, many Chinese airlines offer this service, but if, say, Air Canada would no longer be able to offer these direct flights (currently 2 flights daily, one to Shanghai and one to Beijing, plus the corresponding return flights), they would lose an enormous amount of business.

 

[PanAsian]

Malaysian newspaper New Straits Times claims that MH-17 was shoot down by air-to-air missile and cannon fire :

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This would mark a new low in this whole period of Ukrainian unrest if true. It is good to see Malaysian media (if not the airline or government who has more implications to worry about) try to find out the truth and stand up for themselves rather than accept being both dealt material harm and disregarded while being dragged as a prop into someone else's fight.

It is also good to see people being honest and calling it as they see it, whether it is an OSCE investigator or anyone else.

 

[solarz]

Malaysian newspaper New Straits Times claims that MH-17 was shoot down by air-to-air missile and cannon fire :

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I just read the entire article, and holy crap, this is huge. If this report gains support, it would cast the Kiev regime in a far more evil light than we imagined. Not just a stray BUK missile, not just a commander making a callous decision and a soldier following that order, but actually two trained fighter pilots going up close and personal to the jetliner and shooting it into pieces like a mafia hit.

 

[solarz]

This is the source of the report:

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Assuming that the facts outlined in the report are verifiable, we now have a very strong chain of evidence pointing toward a false flag operation by the Kiev regime:

1- MH-17 deviated significantly from its usual flight path, right into the active conflict zone, on the guidance of Ukrainian air traffic control.

2- Russia radar telemetry and local eye witnesses both report seeing Ukrainian fighter aircraft shadowing MH17 minutes before it went down.

3- Cockpit panels have both inward and outward holes, indicating that the damage was caused by bullets and not shrapnel.

It has now been 3 weeks since the incident, and Western media have so far failed to provide a single shred of credible evidence supporting their accusation. All we've seen are claims of social media posts that could have been created by anyone, bald-faced assertions of "we know this" and "we know that", and red-herring analyses focusing on rebel capability instead of culpability (i.e. analyses of the BUK system capabilities).

Which side fits better the profile of a conspiracy theory?

Malaysia could play a key role in this. If they come out and say they believe the plane was shot down by the Kiev regime, it will blow Western credibility to pieces.

 

[delft]

It is at any rate very noticeable that the Dutch government is not interested in collecting evidence at the crash site to provide real wreckage and possibly parts of either 30 mm shells or parts of a Buk missile, or both, to support or discredit the theories being talked about. It is now waiting for Ukraine to capture the crash site, for which previously a ceasefire was arranged, and again look for body parts and personal possessions in a week or ten days time.

 

[Dannhill]

Very telling when Nato and "concerned" parties have refused to demand Ukrainian govt to oder their forces to stand down and ceasefire around the crash site as they have been saying all along. Despite the fact that western observers have diplomatically hinted at which side is making the area unsafe.

 

[texx1]

It's been three weeks since the incident. Blackboxes have been recovered and investigators have found them to be intact and sound. Yet, there is still no release of cockpit audios or recorded audios between pilots and Ukrainian ATCs. There must have been something damning or embarrassing to involved parties in those tapes. I mean similar cockpit audios were released within days of MH370's disappearance early this year and Air Algérie Flight 5017 that crashed in Mali.