The investigation team found new details in the case of the MH17 tragedy. The Joint Investigation Group released an audio file, which reveals the intercepted conversation among Russian mercenaries.

It took place several weeks before the downing of the passenger aircraft over Donetsk region in July 2014. The plane was shot down by a Russian anti-aircraft missile; the explosion killed all 298 people aboard.

In the conversation, the unknown mercenaries discuss the issues of subordination of armed gangs in the occupied Donbas. They mention some people from Moscow who should have come and replaced the local mercenaries as commanders and coordinators. The interlocutors also mention the names of Russian General Andrei Serdyukov, Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu and Vladislav Surkov, the personal assistant of Russian president Vladimir Putin.

The investigation assumes these top-rank officials have influenced the armed gangs. They could also be behind the action that led to the use of Buk, the SAM system, which the armed bandits used to hit the aircraft.