So the Dutch-led Joint Investigation Team (JIT) has come to the conclusion that Flight MH17 was downed by a Buk missile fired by the Russian Armed Forces. The Boeing 777 with 298 passengers had been shot down over rebel-held territory in Ukraine in 2014. Russia denies any involvement.
It's not entirely news as investigators like the Dutch Safety Board had already figured out the whole thing more or less before, but I think it is particularly interesting since the Netherlands are currently pushing for an EU-wide 'Magnitsky Act' against Russia (and other countries), which could involve asset freezes and visa bans on Russian business people and members of government. To put this into perspective, the original Magnitsky Act (named after Sergei Magnitsky, a Russian lawyer involved in uncovering a $230 million fraud involving Russian tax officials who died under mysterious circumstances in a Moscow prison) solicited a strong reaction from the Russian government – it put a ban on the adoption of Russian children by Americans among other things.
A European Magnitsky Act would effectively mean that some very rich, powerful and corrupt people might lose access to their ill-gotten money stashed away in safe havens like Europe. I think there’s an actual chance this will pass and I’m trying to figure out what this would mean for the European-Russian relationship.
If you want to read about the story behind the Magnitsky act:
https://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2017/07/magnitsky-act-kremlin/535044/Here’s more info about the JIT’s conclusion:
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-44235402?__twitter_impression=true
