10 years after MH17, there are still people who say this is not their war, as if it’s a choice.
Ten years ago, I was sitting with my parents and brother on a terrace in Laos. We were enjoying the Laotian tranquility, where motorbikes stopped to wake sleeping dogs before continuing on their way. The contrast with the Netherlands was striking: in the Netherlands, there would have been impatient honking. We had just finished a Laotian curry, were sipping coffee, and enjoying the music of Michael Jackson and Joy Division after a long day of walking. Everything seemed perfect for a peaceful tropical evening in Laos until one of us went to retrieve the phones. All four phones were so hot you could fry an egg on them. At first, we thought it was due to the heat, but no, they were red-hot from over thirty missed calls. A plane had been shot down over Ukraine.
At first, the seriousness didn’t sink in, but when we opened our phones, we saw a flood of missed calls. Our friends didn’t know if we were on MH17. How could they? We had said we would be in Laos, Malaysia, and Singapore from mid-July to early August. The realization hit later: a Dutch passenger flight, MH17, had not crashed but had been shot down. Three days earlier, we had flown over Eastern Ukraine to Southeast Asia. I even joked, “It’s strange that we’re flying over Ukraine while there’s a war.” Three days later, MH17 was shot out of the sky, and 196 Dutch citizens lost their lives.
Russia has no moral boundaries
The war has been going on for ten years now, claiming nearly a thousand lives daily. Russia relentlessly attacks kindergartens, children’s hospitals, and train stations to sow fear and turn Ukrainian cities to ashes, just like Grozny. The war is coming closer: a farming family in Poland was hit by an off-course Russian missile. Russia continuously violates NATO airspace and even commits attacks in EU territory.
Not my war
Yet there are people in the Netherlands who do not consider this their war. The victims of MH17 thought so too. For them, it was not their war, but Putin decided otherwise. Whether this is our war is not for us to decide; Putin does. Russia is waging a hybrid war against us, using refugees as weapons, as seen at the borders with Finland and Poland (border with Belarus), using GPS jammers to disrupt air traffic around Poland and even northeast Germany, and spreading disinformation to poison our free debate. Whether this is your war is not a choice.
This hybrid warfare is affecting us more directly. Russia deploys local saboteurs for attacks, including arson and vandalism. Thanks to American warnings, Germany fortunately thwarted several sabotage attacks and even assassination attempts. These Russian actions aim to sabotage arms deliveries to Ukraine and undermine support for Kyiv. You can bury your head in the sand and claim it’s not your war, but Russia has decided we are part of the war whether we like it or not. Just like the passengers of MH17, we do not have a choice. Putin has made that choice for us and sees all democracies worldwide as a threat, especially those on Russia’s border.
Disinformation
People like the Dutch far-right politician Thierry Baudet and self-proclaimed independent journalist Joost Niemöller often claim this is not their war but surprisingly often side with Russia. They echo the Russian stance and sow doubt about MH17, undermining the legitimacy of the investigation. In his book “MH17 de Doofpotdeal,” Niemöller argues that the investigation does not aim to find the truth. This is an incredible affront to the JIT and the bereaved families. Niemöller claims the investigation is biased because Ukraine provided evidence. However, the investigation team had other countries verify Ukraine’s findings to minimize bias. While it is undeniable that the BUK missile that downed MH17 came from a Russian unit in Kursk and not a Ukrainian unit, some continue to sow doubt.
Presumably due to a human error, these so-called ‘separatists’ shot down MH17. Imagine if 196 Dutch citizens died in an attack by Muslim fundamentalists one day. Everyone would agree we were at war with terrorism. But now it’s the Russian state. The terrorists didn’t shout ‘alluah akbar,’ and people like Niemöller and Baudet and their supporters now claim it’s not their war. Then you don’t care about terrorism; you only use terrorism for political gain.
Undermining by Russia
Niemöller, Baudet, and many other Dutch Putinists claim this is not their war, but that’s nonsense. They are certainly part of this war, only on Russia’s side. This war has two fronts: one in Ukraine and the other on the internet. We are fighting an information war against Russia. The disinformation and propaganda they spread poison our public debate. This is part of Russia’s hybrid warfare. Dutch Putinists, FvD members, and ‘realists’ claim this is not their war. But in reality, they are promoting the Russian agenda. Moreover, they undermine trust in judicial processes, like the JIT, by constantly sowing doubt about MH17. This reduces the chances of prosecuting the perpetrators of this disaster.
Ten years after MH17, the perpetrators are still not caught, and it is still unclear whether they deliberately downed MH17 or if it was a fatal mistake. Russia continues its disinformation campaigns to undermine the legitimacy of the investigation, receiving help from Dutch Putinists. Dear Dutch Putinists, this is indeed your war, but you are on Russia’s side.