One of the main suspects at the trial over the crash of a passenger Boeing over the Donbas in the summer of 2014, Mr. Sergei Dubinsky, did not know about what had happened for several hours after the crash. The Dutch television and radio company NOS reported quoting wiretapped telephone conversations.

Mr. Dubinsky was the deputy of the so-called DPR Defense Minister Igor Girkin also called Strelkov. As part of the investigation, the detectives studied thousands of Mr. Dubinsky's telephone calls from before, during, and after the crash of the Malaysian Airlines. Ukrainian intelligence services allegedly intercepted the calls. The international investigation team, the JIT, published several recordings.

The Dutch journalists suggested that the analysis of  of the negotiations, which were not made public, indicates that Russia's influence on separatists has been increasing since the beginning of July 2014. Moscow was allegedly involved in military-strategic decisions. In particular, as follows from the words of Dubinsky, it was in Moscow that the decision was approved that the separatist detachments under the command of Mr. Strelkov (Girkin) would leave the city of Slavyansk.

The Russian-backed separatists, according to investigators, received eavesdropping-proof communications at the time. The FSB was allegedly involved in the supply of equipment.

On the day of the plane crash, July 17, Mr. Dubinsky announced that he had direct contact with Moscow. According to journalists, its commander Mr. Igor Strelkov negotiated with the Russian side at the highest level.


Two hours after the Boeing crash the terrorist Commander of the operations did not know about it

On the tapes, Mr. Dubinsky discusses the Buk missile launcher installed on the same day in the territory of Ukraine controlled by the terrorists. Mr. Dubinsky believed, that the Buk was essential for the defence of ​​the city of Marinovka. According to the investigation, it was a Buk missile that shot down a passenger plane. The recorded conversations of the pro-Russian terrorists do not answer the most important question: who ordered the launch of the Buk missile.

About half an hour after the Boeing crash, the co-terrorists told  Mr. Dubinsky that they had allegedly shot down a Ukrainian fighter jet. It took the DPR deputy defense minister almost two hours to discover that, at the same time and the same place, a passenger plane was shot down. Mr. Dubinsky demanded an explanation. His colleagues replied that at first, a Ukrainian military plane hit Boeing, after that they allegedly shot down a Ukrainian fighter from the Buk.

Mr. Dubinsky repeated the version about the Ukrainian fighter in conversation with Mr. Strelkov. It follows from the wiretaps, that the DPR commander from the very beginning was extremely skeptical about this version. He suggested that the separatists might have problems because of what happened. The two current defendants in the trial also discussed the urgent need to remove the Buk from the scene.


Russia adopts terrorist claim about the Ukrainian fighter shooting at Boeing

The fact that the separatists allegedly shot down a Ukrainian fighter jet was reported on July 17, 2014, minutes after the Boeing disaster, in the public "Summaries from Igor Ivanovich Strelkov."

After it became known that Boeing crashed, the record was deleted, but it managed to spread widely across the web.

The Russian Ministry of Defense based its position on the terrorist's claim about the Ukrainian fighter that shot down Boeing. At the same time, the Dutch safety council claims that there were no other aircraft near flight MH-17.

Later, the Russian side abandoned the version with the Ukrainian aircraft and began to insist that the Boeing was indeed shot down from the Buk, but with an older version of the missile. They were removed from service by the Russian army in 2011 but remained at the disposal of the Ukrainian army. The international investigation rejected also this version. In the recording of Mr. Dubinsky's conversations, the ownership of the missile system is not discussed.

The fact that Mr. Dubinsky and his accomplices might not know for what purpose they fired the rocket does not matter for the prosecution, the publication notes.


Commander of pro-Russian terrorists suggested Russian army shot down the Boeing

The Boeing crash on July 17, 2014, killed 298 people - most of the citizens of the Netherlands and Australians. The charges were brought against four people who were related to the separatists. Three of them are citizens of Russia (Mr. Igor Girkin, Mr. Sergey Dubinsky, and Mr. Oleg Pulatov), ​​one is a citizen of Ukraine.

The trial in the Netherlands began in March 2020. The defendants deny any involvement in the plane crash. None of them appeared in court. Only one defendant - Mr. Oleg Pulatov - is represented by lawyers. Its representatives did not respond to Dutch broadcaster NOS request for comment.

The investigation considers it proven that the plane was shot down from a setup belonging to the Russian military. It has not yet been clarified who exactly gave the order to shoot at the plane and whether the attack on the passenger plane was deliberate, or was shot down by mistake.

Russian authorities have denied any involvement in the Boeing crash. Mr. Strelkov-Girkin replies to all questions about the disaster that the separatists under his command did not shoot down the Boeing, without directly denying that, for example, the Russian military could shoot him down.