The Taliban are showing increased concern with the security of flights transiting Afghan airspace than the Ukrainians were back in 2014, when the MH17 flight was shot down. The narrative was launched by the Russian MFA spokesperson, Maria Zakharova, who interpreted an article carried by the Dutch media.
NEWS: “According to Mrs Zakharova, the Taliban who seized power in Afghanistan (an organization banned in Russia) are making more efforts to ensure the security of their civilian aviation than the enemies of Viktor Yanukovych who orchestrated the 2014 coup! Back then, Kiev didn’t ban flights transiting its airspace […] although the Ukrainian army was shelling cities, organizing large-scale military actions against its own people”, Gazeta.ru writes, presenting the point of view of the Russian MFA.
“The outcome was tragic – the tragic crash of the Malaysia Airlines aircraft occurred in Ukrainian airspace”, RIA Novosti also writes, blaming Ukraine for shooting down the aircraft.
“It’s an article published by Dutch journalists in their national media, originally displaying an atypical empathy for the regime in Kiev and its ventures. But time has made everything clear”, Rubaltic.ru in turn writes, quoting Maria Zakharova.
NARRATIVES: 1. Ukraine holds the blame for the crash of MH17 in 2014. 2. A coup occurred in 2014 in Ukraine, and the regime in Kiev is supported by Western media.
BACKGROUND: “On July 17, 2014, the Malaysia Airlines MH17 aircraft flying from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur was shot down over the territory controlled by separatists in the Donetsk region, in eastern Ukraine. All 298 passengers and crew members were killed. Most victims were Dutch citizens. According to an international investigation, led by a team made up of experts from a number of countries (the Netherlands, Ukraine, Australia, Belgium and Malaysia), the aircraft was shot down by a Russian-made Buk missile, fired by the 53rd Air Defense Brigade of the Russian armed forces deployed in Kursk, close to the Ukrainian border.
Russia has constantly denied any involvement in these events as well as any connection to the mercenaries it finances in Donbass, fabricating all sorts of false narratives concerning the incident. Moscow officials accuse Ukraine of being responsible for bringing down the plane and falsifying evidence, which is something the international investigation has not corroborated.
PURPOSE: The narratives seek to blame Ukraine for shooting down the aircraft and exonerate Russia.
WHY THE NARRATIVES ARE FALSE: In fact, the article published by the Dutch newspaper “De Telegraf” makes no reference to Ukraine’s responsibility in the case of the MH17 tragedy. The content of this article has been misrepresented by the Russian MFA spokesperson in order to prove to the Russian-speaking public that Russia is not to blame. The only reference the article makes to Ukraine is in context, the authors claiming that, in light of the MH17 flight being shot down, Europeans should be more careful about planning their travels, particularly when flying over conflict areas. The situation in Afghanistan is brought into discussion without making any comparison with Ukraine. Instead, Maria Zakharova makes the comparison to serve Russia’s political interests, by misquoting the “De Telegraf” article in order to support her position. Moreover, the Dutch authors write that shutting down Afghan airspace is creating problems for airliners, saying such a decision is unprecedented, even in conflict areas – an argument at odds with Maria Zakharova’s statements about Ukraine.
The Russian MFA spokesperson says the “regime in Kiev” came to power after a “coup”, which suggests an unwillingness to recognize its legitimacy. On the other hand, she calls the Taliban regime in Afghanistan “the new forces”! In fact, there was never a coup in Ukraine in 2014. After president Viktor Yanukovych refused to sign the Association Agreement with the EU, pushed against the wall by Moscow, he eventually fled to Russia. Parliamentary and presidential elections followed, which the international community subsequently recognized. At the same time, Russia annexed Crimea and started the conflict in Donbass, providing separatists with money and weapons.
With respect to Ukraine’s responsibility in the MH17 tragedy – a topic actively promoted in Russian media – according to the evidence presented at the trial taking place in the Netherlands, the aircraft was shot down by a Buk Russian missile, brought over from Russia and launched from one of the areas controlled by the pro-Russian separatist rebels in Donbass.
Also worth mentioning is that West also discussed Ukraine’s decision of not closing down its air space in 2014. According to an official inquiry, posted on the Dutch Parliament’s website, at the time Ukraine was not aware of the possibility of an aircraft being shot down by a missile from Russia. The document states that Russia too chose not to close down its airspace in the vicinity of the Ukrainian border. Further evidence shows that there have been no unilateral decisions on shutting down airspace in conflict areas, all decisions after 1990 having been taken depending on case-specific circumstances.
