This document provides an overview of Bellingcat, an investigative journalism organization that focuses on open-source investigations. It summarizes some of Bellingcat's most prominent investigations, including their extensive work investigating the downing of MH17 over Ukraine in 2014 which began when founder Eliot Higgins led investigations into Syrian chemical weapon attacks as a blogger. The document outlines Bellingcat's growth, financing sources, team size, and some of its key findings around Russian aggression in Ukraine and identifying suspects in the Skripal poisoning. It also details some of Bellingcat's work analyzing the route of the Buk missile system linked to the downing of MH17 and identifying people in command positions.

2. MH17: Five Years Later
Pieter van Huis, Bellingcat Pieter van Huis
@hspvn

3. Goal:
Investigate Journalism with a special focus on digital open
sources, with extra transparency
Our team:
Dozens of analysis from different countries. Core team of 17 paid
staff members
Financing:
In the beginning: $$ via crowdfunding campaign
At the moment: Half of our $$ from grants (Google, OSF, Meedan,
NED, Adessium, Postcode Lottery…), and half from workshops
What is Bellingcat?

6. The growth of Bellingcat
Syrian chemical attacks
Eliot Higgins, owner of Bellingcat, has led the way in digital research into chemical attacks
in Syria since the 2013 Sarin attack in Damascus. He was a blogger under the pseudonym
“Brown Moses”. He launched Bellingcat.com on 15 July 2014
MH17
We’ve published over 85 articles, ranging from quick posts to 100-page investigations, on
the downing of MH17 over Ukraine. Our most important findings are corroborated by the
Dutch-led Joint Investigation Team
Many other investigations worldwide
Including for example more evidence on Russian aggression against Ukraine, as well as
identifying the Skripal Poisoning suspects as Russian GRU agents. But also analyzing
American airstrikes, and the Saudi intervention in Yemen

7. 17 July 2014
MH17 and the Start of
Bellingcat

8. Luhansk 18 juli 2014

9. Luhansk 18 juli 2014

14. Approximate route of the 23-25 June 2014 Buk convoy, that
transported the Buk that downed MH17 from Kursk (Marshala
Zhukova) to Millerovo.

15. In red: geolocation of a video from 23 June 2014 with a
convoy near Kursk – the start of the route

16. Videos provided by the SBU and
the JIT with intercepted
conversations
that indicate a Buk-M1 was
delivered in Donetsk with a crew

17. Screenshots of an SBU video showing that the Buk-M1 crossed
the border between Russia and Ukraine under its own power. The
Buk is procured by a militant with the call sign “Khmuryi”

22. Left: Dmitri T.,
Commander of the 2nd
Batallion of the 53rdd
Brigade on 23 February
2014
Right: Photo’s of Dmitri
T., on Mail.Ru and
Odnoklassniki

23. Commandant van de 53ste Luchtafweer-Raketbrigade,
Sergei Borisovich Moechkaev

24. Command structure of the
2nd Batallion of the 53rd
Anti-Aircraft Missile
Brigade in the summer of
2014

26. The Joint Investigation Team has named four
suspects so far:
• Igor Girkin (Strelkov)
• Sergey Dubinsky (“Khmury”)
• Oleg Pulatov (“Gyurza”)
• Leonid Kharchenko (“Krot”)
Current state of the
Investigation

28. Our Recent Report (88 pages)

29. Unknown Individuals and
their Call Signs

31. Bezler and “Naymanets”

37. Sergey “Khmury” Dubinsky

42. Girkin, Borodai, and Pulatov near
Stepanivka, 16 July 2014

44. The video was geolocated
to a field northwest of
Stepanivka, just 3.3
kilometers from the Buk
launch site

46. Nikolay Tkachev and Oleg
Ivannikov