Thread by @XSovietNews

The MH17 trial has resumed in The Hague, with screens separating the judges. Live feed: content.uplynk.com/player5/2GnnnR…

The defence has claimed it's been difficult to get in touch with suspect Oleg Pulatov due to coronavirus restrictions.

Oleg Pulatov's lawyer saying they didn't have enough time to catch up with all the case materials.

"Reading the file is very time-consuming."

She's talking about needing technical knowledge about which ammunition particles came from which weapon. As if everyone in the courtroom doesn't know the Russians fired one Buk.

Now she's complaining about the number of hyperlinks in the file.

Yet the fact that her client refuses to attend doesn't seem to be an issue for her.

Now onto their difficulties from coronavirus restrictions.

Claiming that talking via phone or internet to Oleg Pulatov could have been compromised by GRU interference or hacking that the prosecution suggested could happen. But the GRU is on the same side as the defence.

Oleg Pulatov's lawyers don't speak Russian, they say. Perhaps he should have hired Russian-speaking lawyers.

A preliminary defence will be asking whether the Netherlands has jurisdiction for the case, Pulatov's lawyer says.

Now she's saying that combatants are entitled to participate in hostilities in armed conflicts. But Putin doesn't recognise Russians as combatants.

Pulatov's lawyer is emphasising that it's vital to build a trust relationship with him in person, especially since his lawyers are from the country that is prosecuting him.

Prosecutor says the defence has already had time to get to know Pulatov, and has chosen not to have contact with him during the coronavirus crisis.

After a break the prosecution starts a presentation on the investigation, which will take several days.

Media sometimes call fighters on the Russian side "separatists", but the investigation has shown that these fighters were Russian citizens and the term was not appropriate, the prosecutor says.

"The Russian Federation played and plays an important role."

Prosecution now showing slides. Normal forensics couldn't be undertaken due to the area being under the control of the "DPR" sham Russian state.

No forensic investigation was possible at the site.

Examining the wreckage and the human remains of 298 people.

Metal particles were found in the bodies of the crew.

A part of the plane's fuselage was found among the passengers' belongings.

Inspecting the wreckage.

Reconstructing the plane.

Two Buk missiles were dismantled to compare their parts with those of the missile that hit MH17.

What the Buk anti-aircraft system looks like.

A Buk was detonated in Finland to help determine the location of the launch. Many countries participated in the years-long investigation. Russia claims there is no evidence that MH17 was shot down by a Russian Buk.

Another Buk detonation in Ukraine in 2016.

A Buk destroys the test arena.

A second Buk detonation in Ukraine.

The damage was mainly on the left front side of the cockpit and the left wing: hundreds of small holes.

Most of the dents and perforations were caused by the impact of steel.

The arena tests showed the same outward bulges as were found on MH17. Not a contraindication of an explosion on the outside.

Some of the 341 steel fragments that were found.

The bowtie shape of some of the fragments helped to determine what type of warhead was used.

29 steel fragments were found in the bodies of the crew members.

Seven large parts of the Buk were found.

The prosecution is now talking about phone conversations between the suspects that were intercepted by Ukraine's intelligence service, the SBU.

Suspects discussed how to communicate securely.

They were able to encrypt some of their conversations.

The use of call signs disguised the identities of participants, prosecutors say.

Locations of transmitter masts.

Now featuring a clip from the brilliant Donbass reporting by @SimonOstrovsky for VICE News.

Ostrovsky was asking about this conversation.

A conversation between suspects in which they discuss how funny it is that a Dutch reporter has a name that sounds like "dick" in Russian.

Intercepted conversation of defendant Igor Girkin/Strelkov.

The investigation also uses material translated by BBC Monitoring.

The prosecution is now talking about how the investigation searched for witnesses.

The prosecution talks about how decisions were made on whether or not witnesses should be anonymous. Then describes collecting all available information from the internet. The trial has adjourned until 10 am tomorrow.

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