Today, Google Earth updated
its historical satellite imagery to include Donetsk and Makiivka at 11:08am
(local time) on July 17, 2014, the day of the downing of Flight MH17.
Bellingcat has previously purchased portions of this image, with the Digital Globe
catalog ID of 105041001104D000, to show that the
Russian Ministry of Defense had doctored its MH17 evidence, and to search for the Buk on the H21 highway between
Donetsk and Torez. Unfortunately, we did not purchase the segment of the image
that showed the Buk and the Volvo truck hauling it, as the convoy took a
south-bound detour through Makiivka before re-entering H21. With the new
imagery update, we now have confirmation of the authenticity of a recent dash-cam video showing the Buk and
its convoy in Makiivka.
A portion of this satellite
image was previously published by the U.S.-based
private intelligence company Stratfor, which focused on the Buk and the Volvo
truck hauling it.
The updated Google Earth imagery provides
this portion of the satellite image, along with other parts that allow us to
further confirm the authenticity of the Makiivka dash-cam video. The Buk is
located at 48.020433, 37.990787 on the image, just
south and east of a car wash and tire shop. This location is the same place that the car
turned left on in the beginning of the
Makiivka dash-cam video. Behind the convoy, we find a UAZ-469 jeep, a
Volkswagen van, and a white SUV. All three of these vehicles can be seen in the
satellite image, though the jeep and van are harder to spot. The
white SUV, lagging a bit behind the convoy, is the easiest to identify. In the
image, the UAZ-469 and VW van are either overtaking the Volvo and Buk, or
blocking the left lane in traffic, in line with behavior of these two vehicles
in a
convoy filmed two days before the MH17 downing along the same road.
It is difficult to discern the details on
the Volvo and Buk, but the shadow cast by the Buk is a match to the Makiivka
dash-cam video, especially compared to the much smaller UAZ-469 jeep:
After driving past the Buk and its convoy,
the Makiivka dash-cam driver passes a gas station, where a few cars are
parked. These cars are visible in the satellite image, and easily identifiable
by their diagonal parking angle.
With the updated satellite imagery, there
is yet more confirmation that separatist forces transported a Buk from Donetsk
to Snizhne in eastern Ukraine on the day of the downing of Flight MH17.
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