Both Russian and Ukrainian security services spied on Dutch civil servants and diplomats investigating the 2014 downing of Malaysian Airlines flight 17, or MH17, by Russia-backed separatists, Dutch broadcaster RTL Nieuws reported on June 26.
During the criminal investigation that followed the tragedy, the hotel rooms of Dutch officials were bugged and spying software was installed on their smartphones, tablets, and laptops. RTL reported that high-level sources implicated the Ukrainian intelligence services in the espionage.
“We are not naïve,” Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte said in response to the report, acknowledging that the investigation was at risk of being targeted by various security agencies. However, he refused to comment on whether the Dutch government discussed the issue with Ukraine.
The espionage was allegedly so extensive that Dutch investigators in Ukraine were instructed not to use public WiFi networks and to always send information in encrypted form. Secret discussions could only take place in special booths at the embassy in Kyiv.
The “SBU did not conduct [espionage on the Dutch investigators] and yesterday the Dutch side stated that we are partners,” the agency told the Kyiv Post in a statement on June 28. The SBU also noted that the Ukrainian security services “helped to fight those who did” spy on the team.
The report is politically sensitive as the Netherlands and Ukraine have friendly relations. Alongside representatives of Australia, Belgium, and Malaysia, both countries were also members of the Joint Investigation Team, or JIT, which conducted the criminal investigation into the downing of MH17.
On May 24, 2018, the JIT announced its conclusion that the BUK missile that shot down the airliner originated from the Russian 53rd Anti-Aircraft Rocket Brigade, based in Kursk.
However, Ukraine is not alone in spying on the investigators. According to the journalists’ sources, espionage by Russia is far more extensive and systematic.
RTL received a joint statement from the Dutch Ministry of Justice and Security, the Ministry of General Affairs, the Ministry of the Interior, the Security Service, the Military Intelligence and Security Service, the National Police, and the Public Prosecution Service on June 22. The agencies assured the journalists that the necessary precautions were taken during the investigation to prevent information leaks.
“It is known that the shooting down of MH17 took place above a conflict zone where great geopolitical interests are played out. It was imaginable that other parties wanted to collect information,” the statement reads.
Neither RTL nor the joint statement definitively indicate whether valuable information was leaked.
According to the Dutch broadcaster, it is believed that by spying on the investigators, the Ukrainian authorities would be able to prepare in advance for the conclusions of the investigation. Jelle van Buuren, a researcher at Leiden University’s Institute of Security and Global Affairs, told the journalists “it is a standard practice to want to know everything, especially in such a politically sensitive issue.”
Peter Koop, a Dutch expert on communications security, told RTL that, due to the military threat posed by Russia, collecting information is more important to Ukraine than “behaving nicely.”
Flight MH17 was shot down on July 17, 2014 near the town of Hrabove in Ukraine’s Donetsk Oblast. Out of the 298 passengers and crew killed in the disaster, 193 were Dutch citizens.
