MH17 missile was trucked in from Russia, inquiry finds

Putin urged to come clean on attack that downed airliner, as Dutch experts put Kremlin in the frame

VLADIMIR PUTIN yesterday faced calls to admit what he knows about the MH17 tragedy, after Dutch prosecutors revealed the missile that shot down the Malaysian airliner was transported into east Ukraine from Russia and fired from separatist-controlled territory.

In findings that raise serious questions about the culpability of the Russian state and Mr Putin – who is the commander in chief of the Russian armed forces – detectives also said the Buk SA-11 launch vehicle returned across the border a day after the attack.

“MH17 was shot down by a 9M38 missile launched by a Buk, brought in from the territory of the Russian Federation, and that after launch was subsequently returned to the Russian Federation,” Wilbert Paulissen, head of the Central Crime Investigation department of the Dutch National Police, said.

Russia, which has consistently denied any involvement in the tragedy, dismissed the findings as “biased and politically motivated”.

MH17 was en route from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur when it was shot down over eastern Ukraine on July 17 2014, killing all 298 people aboard, including 10 Britons. At the time, Ukrainian government forces were involved in heavy fighting with pro-Russian separatists who are known to have received significant Russian military support. A The wreckage of MH17 was painstakingly pieced together by investigators, right Dutch-led team of detectives from Australia, Belgium, Malaysia and Ukraine have spent more than two years compiling evidence for a potential criminal prosecution of the perpetrators.

In preliminary results presented yesterday, they said audio intercepts, witness statements and forensic evidence show the missile arrived from Russia after separatists requested additional support against Ukrainian airstrikes. The launcher fired the missile that brought down MH17 from a field about 10 miles south-east of the crash site on the afternoon of July 17 before returning across the border next day on a lorry, the investigators said.

Relations expressed relief that the investigation had moved forward. “Even if it takes 10 years, if we reach an end result then we will be satisfied,” said Robby Oehlers, a 46-year-old Dutchman who lost his 20-year-old niece Daisy and her boyfriend Bryce Fredriksz, 23, in the crash. “My message to Putin is I would ask him in a friendly way to give [up] the people if he knows who they are,” he added.

The governments of countries that lost citizens in the crash, including the UK, also called on Russia to come clean.

“Today’s initial criminal report offers clear evidence that the missile was Russian-made, and launched from within territory held by Russianbacked separatist groups,” said Boris Johnson, the Foreign Secretary. “We ask that Russia now engages constructively with the findings and ongoing investigation.” Moscow reacted angrily to the report, calling the investigation biased and saying it had refused to take Russian evidence into account.

A Kremlin spokesman said Russian data showed no evidence of a rocket being launched from the region. “The data is clear-cut ... there is no rocket. If there was a rocket, it could only have been fired from elsewhere,” he said.

The Russian defence ministry yesterday denied that any of its anti-aircraft units had crossed the border.

Almaz Antey, the state-owned Russian company that makes Buk missiles, said the results did not correspond to its analysis of the wreckage. But the prosecutors said “overwhelming weight” of evidence meant they were unlikely to revise their conclusions. Attention will now focus on the identities of the missile system operators and their chain of command, including the possibility that the missile was fired not by local separatists but by serving Russian army personnel.

Investigators say they have identified 100 persons of interest. “Of a number of them, we know pretty exactly what their role and position was, said Fred Westerbeke, chief prosecutor at the Netherlands National Prosecutor’s office. “We know exactly what happened, but who exactly was in charge, and whether it was done intentionally, there the investigation is still continuing,” Mr Westerbeke said.

‘My message to Putin is I would ask him in a friendly way to give [up] the people if he knows who they are’