Pompeo ups pressure on Russia over MH17

Moscow must ensure that those charged with murder over the downing of Malaysia Airlines flight MH17 face justice, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said, after international investigators accused three Russians and a Ukrainian over the disaster. The trial of the four men with military and intelligence links will start in the Netherlands in March next year, although they are likely to be tried in absentia as neither Russia nor Ukraine extradites their nationals.

They would be the first people to face justice over the catastrophe five years ago in which 298 people died. But Moscow slammed the “absolutely unfounded accusations” over the downing of the plane, which was travelling between Amsterdam and Kuala Lumpur when it was hit by a missile over part of eastern Ukraine held by pro-Russian rebels.

The Dutch-led inquiry team on Wednesday said international arrest warrants had been issued for Russian nationals Igor Girkin, Sergei Dubinsky and Oleg Pulatov, and Ukrainian Leonid Kharchenko, all of whom are suspected of roles in the separatist Donetsk People’s Republic. Dutch prosecutor Fred Westerbeke said the four were to be held responsible for bringing the BUK missile system from Russia into eastern Ukraine “even though they have not pushed the button themselves.”

“We won’t demand their extradition because Russian and Ukrainian law forbids the extradition of their nationals. But we ask Russia once more to cooperate -- many of our questions remain unanswered,” he told a press conference. The same investigation team said in May 2018 that the BUK anti-aircraft missile that hit the Boeing 777 had originated from the 53rd Russian military brigade based in the southwestern city of Kursk.

Pompeo welcomed the charges, saying: “We call upon Russia to... ensure that any indicted individuals currently in Russia face justice”. Moscow has slammed the “absolutely unfounded accusations”, while the US urged Russia to ensure that those charged with murder face justice.