MH17 shot down by missile brought from Russia

Moscow says probe biased and politically motivated

Nieuwegein, Netherlands, Sept. 28: The missile that downed flight MH17 over eastern Ukraine was transported from Russia, a criminal inquiry revealed Wednesday, announcing about 100 people were being investigated for playing “an active role” in the disaster.

Saying they had “irrefutable evidence” that the BUK missile system was used to blow the Malaysia Airlines plane out of the sky, investigators also confirmed the device was fired from a field in a part of eastern Ukraine then controlled by pro-Russia separatists.

Ukraine said the inquiry proved Russia’s “direct involvement” in the tragedy, adding it put “an end to all of Russia's attempts to discredit the activities and conclusions” of the inquiry team.

Moscow, however, denied having any role in the disaster and described the inquiry on Wednesday as “biased” and “politically motivated” saying it was “disappointed” in the results.

“Russia is disappointed that the situation around the investigation of the Boeing catastrophe is not changing,” foreign ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said in a statement, adding: “The conclusions... confirm that the investigation is biased and politically motivated.”

REPORT FINDINGS

The findings of the Dutch-led probe stopped short of directly accusing Moscow of involvement in the tragedy in July 2014.

The Boeing 777 was ripped apart mid-air during a flight from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur over Ukraine, where a war pitting separatists allegedly armed by Russia against the Kiev government erupted in April 2014. All 298 people on board were killed.

But despite two official international investigations, the burning questions of who gave the orders and who pulled the trigger remain unresolved.

A “BUK missile from the 9M38-series” was used that “came from the territory of the Russian Federation,” said Wilbert Paulissen, the head of the Dutch police investigation.

It was transferred in Ukraine onto a white Volvo truck and escorted by armed men in uniform. Afterwards the missile launcher system “was taken back to Russia,” Paulissen said.

Using thousands of photos, videos, some 200 witness statements and 1,50,000 tapped telephone conversations, the investigators have retraced the route taken by the convoy which brought the missile system into eastern Ukraine.

The 700-kg BUK, a complex radar-guided antiaircraft weapon, was fired from a field in Pervomaiskyi which at the time “was in the hands of the Russian separatists.”

Ukrainian rebels have also denied that they were behind the disaster.