The Joint Investigation Team (JIT), which is investigating the crash of flight MH17 in 2014, at a press conference in The Hague (Netherlands) on February 8, released the interception of a conversation between Russian President Vladimir Putin and ex-leader of the “LPR” Igor Plotnitsky.
The publicized conversation between Putin and Plotnitsky took place on November 15, 2017. About it says in a report consequences.
During the call, Putin was interested in the “military component” and exacerbations on the pitch. He also asked about the economic situation in the region.
“There are aggravations from time to time, but this is precisely caused by the change in the deployment of various military units, but, thank God, there have not been such, especially cruel ones,” Plotnitsky replied.
In addition, the leader of the “LPR” complained about the “low standard of living” in the occupied territories. In response, Putin said that he would “ask his colleagues for help,” and also offered to “meet in person and discuss.”
They also discussed the exchange of prisoners, which then initiated former deputy Viktor Medvedchuk. Plotnitsky said he supported the exchange of prisoners.
A fragment of the conversation was published by the publication “Focus” .
“This conversation… showed that Putin was personally involved in the conflict in eastern Ukraine. He also confirms the testimony that Plotnitsky had a telephone with direct numbers for President Putin, [министра обороны РФ Сергея] Shoigu and [советника Путина Владислава] Surkov,” the report says.
On February 8, the JIT also stated that there is information that Russian President Putin personally agreed to send the Russian Buk anti-aircraft missile system, from which the Boeing 777 flight MH17 was shot down in the summer of 2014, to Ukraine.
In 2014-2015, Russia, under the leadership of Putin, first illegally annexed the Ukrainian Crimea, and then occupied part of the Donetsk and Luhansk regions, “appointing representatives of the DPR and LPR militants to manage” the occupied regions.
