Russian colonel general identified as key figure in downing of flight MH17: report

The 298 victims of the fatal crash, over territory held by pro-Russian separatists fighting Ukrainian government forces, included 196 Dutch citizens. The victims came from 17 countries.

Dutch investigators concluded in 2015 that the plane was brought down by a Russian-made ground-to-air rocket. Moscow has denied one of its rockets could have been used to shoot down the flight.

Joint probe

Investigative search network Bellingcat said on its website that it had conducted a joint probe with news and investigative outlet The Insider to determine the identity of “Delfin,” whom it described as a key figure sought by the Joint Investigation Team (JIT), the Dutch-led criminal inquiry into the downing of flight MH17.

Bellingcat said its probe had “to a high degree of certainty” identified Delfin as Colonel General Nikolai Fedorovich Tkachev, the Chief Inspector of the Central Military District of the Russian Federation.

Bellingcat said on its website that it used open-source research, investigative journalism and forensic voice analysis to determine the identity of “Delfin.”

Bellingcat added that Tkachev had denied having been in Ukraine in 2014.

Appeal for witnesses

Bellingcat noted that in September 2016, the Joint Investigation Team published an appeal for witnesses regarding two key individuals in the downing of the airliner: “Delfin” and “Orion.”

The Joint Investigation Team made public a number of intercepted telephone calls between the two people, Bellingcat reported.

Bellingcat added that the exact role of Delfin and Orion in the downing of flight MH17 is unclear.

(pk/gs)

Source: www.bellingcat.com