Russia’s Top 10 Lies About Downed Malaysia Airliner

In the past, their presence on the frontlines alongside the terrorists in Ukraine provided valuable advantage to the Russian media outlets. They were typically the first on the scene, filming the footage that would be shown on Russian television in short order. This powerful sword of immediate access to live events finally cut the other way on July 17, 2014. Russian media and the terrorists themselves were caught red-handed in making numerous misrepresentations and outright fabrications, intended to override their own previous admissions.

Here is a collection of the most outrageous lies with respect to the shooting down of the Malaysia airliner.

1. 

The Malaysian airliner was shot down at approximately 17:30 (Moscow time). The wave of coverage commenced with the posting on the social media page of a Russian terrorist Girkin (also known under his pseudonym “Strelkov”) at 17:50.  Russia’s mainstream media routinely uses postings on this page as the primary source for their news stories. In his commentary, Girkin boasted that the terrorists managed to shoot down another Ukrainian plane, specifically mentioning what he believed at the time to be a Ukrainian AN-26 airplane, shot down in the area of Torez.

Girkin postured, writing: “We warned you – don’t fly in our skies” and followed up his comment with two videos,depicting the aftermath of the crash. A similar message was posted by one of Girkin’s cohorts, Pavel Gubarev (also known as the Neo-Nazi Santa Claus). After their closer inspection revealed that the terrorists had, in fact, shot down a civilian airliner, Girkin attempted to debunk his own earlier assertion with a bogus message allegedly broadcast by Ukraine’s President, Petro Poroshenko. In a garbled pidgin-Ukrainian (obviously written by someone who doesn’t speak the language), with numerous misspellings, President Poroshenko allegedly admitted that Ukrainian military shot down “the terrorist plane.” This desperate attempt at subterfuge would fail to impress even the most gullible readers.

2. Claiming that the terrorists did not have any equipment capable of shooting down the aircraft traveling at the altitude of more than 4,000 meters.

In another failed attempt to hide his culpability, on July 17, 2014, Girkin claimed that the terrorists did not have any equipment capable of shooting down the aircraft traveling at the altitude of more than 4,000 meters. Only one day earlier, on July 16, 2014, Girkin boasted of the terrorists shooting down a plane that was traveling at an altitude of 6,000 meters. These obvious contradictions are self-explanatory. Tragic events of July 17, 2014, demonstrated that a group of drunken rag-tag bandits, headed by Russian intelligence officers and members of the military, should not be entrusted with weapons of any caliber, much less anti-aircraft missile systems.

3. Claiming that this was an attempt to murder Russian President, Vladimir Putin

One of the most bizarre exertions, blaming the Ukrainian military for allegedly shooting down the Malaysian airliner, was based on a claim that this was an attempt to murder Russian President, Vladimir Putin. Networks reported that on July 17, 2014, the presidential plane took quite a bizarre round-about route across Ukraine, on its way from Warsaw, Poland to Moscow, Russia. It was reported by Russia Today(more than once), Komsomolskaya Pravda and a number of other Russian mainstream media outlets. Russian aviation sources assert that Putin’s airplane never flies through Ukrainian airspace (particularly since the time Russia started fomenting unrest in the East of Ukraine this year).

4. In the first clip, LifeNews proudly announced that “the rebels” successfully downed another Ukrainian plane, AN-26. In the subsequent coverage (on the same day, with the same host, wearing the same clothes), LifeNews claimed that civilian Malaysian airliner was shot down by the Ukrainian military.

Russian media networks proudly reported that so-called “rebels” again succeeded in shooting down a Ukrainian airplane. This act corresponded with the pattern of terrorist attacks on Ukrainian aircraft. On June 13th, terrorists shot down a Ukrainian transport plane, killing 40 paratroopers and 9 crew members. On June 24th, they downed a Ukrainian helicopter, killing all 9 on board. On July 14th, terrorists shot down a Ukrainian military cargo plane. On July 16th, terrorists downed a Ukrainian fighter jet. These attacks were praised and touted in the Russian mainstream media, as the victories of the imaginary “Novorussia” over the government of Ukraine.

LifeNews outlet, whose reporters proudly serve on the frontlines alongside terrorists, rushed to the scene. In the meantime, their network announced on Russian television that another Ukrainian plane was shot down by the “rebels.” They also published a corresponding article on their website. Once the network’s reporters discovered that the plane shut down by the terrorists was in fact a civil airliner, the article and the video were promptly removed (although still available here, side by side with the conflicting coverage that followed).

In the first clip, LifeNews proudly announced that “the rebels” successfully downed another Ukrainian plane, AN-26. In the subsequent coverage (on the same day, with the same host, wearing the same clothes), LifeNews claimed that civilian Malaysian airliner was shot down by the Ukrainian military.

It should be noted that since the beginning of this crisis, Ukrainian Air Force has not fired a single missile, despite several alleged violations of their airspace by Russian aircraft. Since Russian terrorists in Eastern Ukraine do not operate any type of aircraft in the area, there is no plausible explanation for the outrageous speculation that Ukrainian military would suddenly attack an airplane. Furthermore, a professional radar operator would have been able to distinguish between a civilian airliner and military aircraft.

5. Claiming that none of the “rebels” in any of the self-proclaimed “republics” in Eastern Ukraine ever had the lethal and sophisticated Buk

Russian mainstream media proudly boasted that the terrorists had in their possession SA-11 missile systems, also known as the Buk-M1 surface-to-air missile system. For example, on June 29, 2014, ITAR-TASS news agency reported that “rebels” gained control of a Buk missile installation. After the system was apparently used to shoot down the Malaysian airliner on July 17, 2014, ITAR-TASS reported that none of the “rebels” in any of the self-proclaimed “republics” in Eastern Ukraine ever had the lethal and sophisticated Buk. Recent intelligence reports reveal that neither one of these stories were correct, since the weaponry used for the attack, along with the crew of operators, was imported from Russia and later returned.

6. Lies that OSCE has full trust in the “rebels” and has been granted full access to conduct a thorough investigation

“Russia One” television channel and other mainstream media in Russia would have you believe that OSCE has full trust in the “rebels” and has been granted full access to conduct a thorough investigation. In reality, OSCE report complains of “visibly intoxicated and aggressive” terrorists, who have given the investigators very limited access. Journalists on the scene report that victims wallets have been completely emptied, their belongings were looted and corpses ignored, while the terrorists took shameless selfies on-site.

7 Lies about the Buk

The same terrorists who first proudly boasted they had the Buk system, then categorically denied it after shooting down MH17, now say they do have Buk, but it is “broken.” It should be noted that the terrorists previously claimed that should Buk malfunction, they could easily fix it up and use it to shoot down planes “like taking candy from a baby.” Russian news media gushed about the so-called “rebels” who will “guard the skies” with their new Buk system. Russian Twitter trolls, working in tandem with propagandists and the media, spread “happy news” about repaired Buk being ready for use as of July 14, 2014.

8. False Twitter account of someone claiming to be "Carlos," an alleged Spaniard, working as an air traffic controller in Kyiv’s international airport, Borispol

Russian mainstream media often relies on unnamed social media users and self-proclaimed experts, without fact-checking any of their claims. Russia Today found someone claiming to be "Carlos," an alleged Spaniard, working as an air traffic controller in Kyiv’s international airport, Borispol. Without ever fully identifying himself, “Carlos” Tweeted in Spanish that Ukrainian jets were following the passenger plane and shot it down. Numerous prominent news outlets picked up this ridiculous story, including television channel Russia 24, the Defense Ministry's Zvezda channel, Rossiiskaya Gazeta and Komsomolskaya Pravda.

No one found it suspicious that a foreigner would be working in a Ukrainian airport and live-Tweeting ridiculous claims, while not speaking either Russian, Ukrainian or English languages (Russia Today had to interview him in Spanish). Minimal fact-checking would have revealed that Ukrainian authorities do not hire non-citizens of Ukraine as airport dispatchers, or even accept them for training as such. As usual, Russia Today was unperturbed by these minor details. On July 17, 2014 Russia Today acknowledged that the unidentified “Carlos” ran a fake Twitter account, which had been deleted. Two days later, on July 19, 2014, Russia Today again cited “Carlos” as their primary source in another article. 

9. Claiming that all of the passengers on the Malaysia flight were already dead

Notorious Girkin birthed one of the most outlandish allegations, claiming that all of the passengers on the Malaysia flight were already dead, prior to the plane being shot down. To buttress this allegation, Russian media raised the question of why the passports of the victims appeared to be so clean, as though they were brand new. This red herring may indeed impress some people in Russia, where the passport has to be shown even when you’re simply taking out the trash. This approach is drastically different from the West, where the passport is used mainly for international travel. Girkin likely borrowed this twisted tail of “corpses on a plane” from a British TV Series, “Sherlock.” Girkin’s lame attempt of convincing the world that his group of merry terrorists didn’t murder hundreds of innocents, “because they were already dead,” only magnifies their obvious culpability.

10. Lies about the presence of the Ukrainian military aircraft

Russia’s Chief of the General Staff of the Armed Forces, Lt. Gen. Andrey Kartopolov and Chief of the Air Force Main Staff, Lt. Gen. Igor Makushev participated in a media conference in Moscow on July 21, 2014. Their attempts at deflecting the blame were less than subtle. Russia’s military officials asked traditionally loaded questions along the lines of the infamous presupposition: “When did you stop beating your wife?” One of the chief claims in this presentation was cited by Russia Today as follows: “Why did #Ukraine SU-25 fly same path as #MH17, simultaneously at same altitude?”

The SU-25 is a ground attack aircraft, designed to defeat small mobile and stationary ground targets and to engage low-speed air targets at the forward edge. The Boeing 777 is certainly not a low-speed or low altitude air target. If the Ukrainian military (for some unknown reason) actually meant to target an airliner, it would likely use the SU-27, which is a long-range air superiority fighter.

Furthermore, technical specifications of the SU-25 list its service ceiling as 7,000 meters (22,965 feet) unarmed or 5,000 meters (16,000 feet) when armed to the max. The Boeing 777 was flying at the altitude of 33,000 feet. Russian military officials explained this glaring disparity by stating that the SU-25 can fly as high as 10 km (32,808 feet) “if it wants to.” Someone should notify the manufacturers that they’re selling themselves short, according to SU-25’s magic powers to overcome its own technical limitations.

Bonus: Failed attempt to edit Wikipedia entry about the SU-25

Just in case someone was to doubt the magic plane that could fly higher “if it wants to,” Russian Wikipedia was edited to achieve the desired effect. The user who attempted to edit the page (IP 78.108.205.64 ) was located in Moscow, Russia. 

While Russia’s anti-Ukrainian propaganda alreadyreached unprecedented lows, its media fiasco with respect to the downing of a Malaysian airliner crossed over any remaining boundaries. Suspension of disbelief simply cannot stretch that far. From now on, any reporting by Russian mainstream media or statements by its public officials about Ukraine can be safely filed in the category of “'Hello,' he lied.”