Trump, Russia, And Malaysia Airlines MH17 Shootdown: New Suspect Has Putin Link

When Donald Trump defended Russian strongman Vladimir Putin’s alleged killing of political opponents, during Trump’s interview with Bill O’Reilly of Fox News broadcast on February 5, O’Reilly failed to ask Trump whether he would also defend Putin if one of his victims had been a United States citizen.

But if new evidence in the July 17, 2014, shootdown of Malaysia Airlines Flight MH17 over eastern Ukraine is correct, Putin would indeed be linked to the violent slaying of at least one American. When the Malaysia Airlines Boeing 777-200 en route from Amerstdam, Holland, to Kuala Lumpur was shot out of the sky by what investigators say was a Russian missile, all 298 people on board were killed.

Among the dead was one American citizen — 19-year-old Quinn Lucas Schansman.

American victim on board #MH17 crash in Ukraine identified as Quinn Lucas Schansman http://t.co/TKnzFjXsQQ pic.twitter.com/OBpoffSFve

— KTLA (@KTLA) July 19, 2014

Now, more than two-and-half years after the MH17 shootdown, one of the alleged perpetrators of the horrific mass murder has finally been identified — and if reports naming retired Russian Major General Sergey Dubinsky are accurate, the MH17 shootdown could be tied to one of Russian President Vladimir Putin’s top lieutenants.

Dubinsky’s Voice Heard On Intercepted Phone Call

The Malaysia Airlines Boeing 777 was shot down by a Russian anti-aircraft missile fired from a “Buk” missile launcher transported over the border between Russia and Ukraine, and then driven back again after downing Flight MH17 which had taken off from Amsterdam, Holland, according to a report by Dutch investigators last year.

The independent British investigative group Bellingcat, in a report released last week, has now identified the voice of a mystery man previously known only by the code name “Khmury,” and who was apparently driving a black Peugeot automobile seen on video accompanying the missile launcher into Ukraine.

That video, taken from the dashboard camera of a car driving in the opposite direction, is below. The black Peugeot comes into view at approximately the 40-second mark of the video, followed by a truck carrying the Buk missile launcher.

The voice of “Khmury” — a word which translates roughly as “gloomy” — is heard on a phone call intercepted by the Ukraine governnent, in which “Gloomy” speaks to the apparent driver of a truck carrying the Buk launcher.

The voice belonging to “Khmury” has now been identified, according to the Bellingcat report, as that of the 54-year-old Dubinsky, a high-ranking officer in Russia’s GRU, or “Main Intelligence Administration,” one of Russia’s two major intelligence agencies.

Dubinsky Linked To Putin’s Top Man in the Kremlin

In Novmeber of 2016, Dubinsky reportedly attended a meeting in the Russian city of Rostov. At that meeting, Dubinsky conferred with 52-year-old Russian Deputy Prime Minister Vladislav Surkov, who has been described by The Guardian newspaper as “the mysterious Kremlin puppet master” who became “the chief architect of Vladimir Putin’s system.”

At that meeting, Dubinsky was photographed sitting next to Alexei Milchakov, a well-known Russian neo-Nazi figure and GRU special forces soldier who has been accused of war crimes and various atrocities, including killing civilians and animals.

MORE MALAYSIA AIRLINES FLIGHT MH17 COVERAGE FROM THE INQUISITR:
Malaysia Airlines Flight MH17: Russia Lied, Faked Photos To Blame Ukraine For Shootdown, Study Finds
Malaysia Airlines Flight MH17 Shootdown: New Video Shows Russian Missile Launcher That May Have Shot Down Plane
Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370: Vladimir Putin Behind Plane’s Disappearance And Later Shootdown Of MH17, Also?
Russia Shot Down Malaysia Airlines Flight MH17 Dutch Investigators Will Announce, Expert Predicts
Malaysia Airlines Flight MH17: Russia Faked Evidence To Blame Ukraine For Shootdown, New Study Says
Malaysia Airlines Flight MH17: Satellite Photo Shows Russian Missile Launch, Ukraine Leader Claims

Dubinsky is also believed to make his current residence in Rostov, according to information gathered by Bellingcat, which relies on open source information from social media and other online and publicly available sources to conduct its investigations.

Sergey “Gloomy” Dubinsky, when met /w Surkov in Nov 2016 Moscow, sat next to #Russian St. Petersburg neo-Nazi #GRU operator A.Milchakov. pic.twitter.com/ZDudRKMSNy

— lennutrajektoor (@lennutrajektoor) February 20, 2017

Prior to this month’s Bellingcat report, Dubinsky was identified on the Russian site Peacemaker, which monitors the activities of Russian agents and militias in the Ukraine war. The Peacemaker site describes Dubinsky as a “Russian war criminal, who was involved in the shooting of the Malaysian Boeing.”

The site also states that Dubinsky was formerly Chief of Russian Army Intelligence.

Trump has already suggested that he would be open to lifting economic sanctions against Russia — sanctions that were imposed during the administration of President Barack Obama — but whether a link between Russia, and even Putin himself, and the killing of an American aboard Malaysia Airlines Flight MH17 would affect his decision on sanctions remains an open question.

[Featured Image By Peter Dejong/AP Images]