There are’strong evidence’ that Russian President Vladimir Putin personally approved the sale of the missile that downed Malaysia Airlines flight MH17 in 2014, according to international investigators.
The BUK-TELAR missile system was used to shoot down the passenger jet en route from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur over eastern Ukraine on July 17, 2014, according to the six-nation Joint Investigation Team.
When the missile collided with the aircraft and brought it back to ground, all 298 passengers and crew were murdered. Russia has denied all involvement.
The investigators’ statement added, “There are strong indications that the Russian president decided to supply the Buk TELAR to the DPR (Donetsk People’s Republic) separatists.”
In spite of this, however, prosecutors said today that they are halting the criminal investigation into the incident, citing a lack of evidence to initiate any fresh prosecutions.
The announcement comes almost three months after a Dutch court convicted two Russians and a Ukrainian rebel for their roles in the downing of a Boeing 777 on July 17, 2014.
The court has acquitted one Russian.
None of the suspects attended the trial, and it is unknown whether the three convicted of multiple murders will ever fulfill their sentences.
The convictions and the court’s judgment that the surface-to-air Buk missile that brought down the airplane from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur originated from a Russian military facility were interpreted as a clear sign that Moscow played a role in the tragedy. Russia has consistently denied participation. In November, the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs accused the court of caving to pressure from Dutch politicians, prosecutors, and the media.
The November verdicts, however, determined that Moscow was in control of the self-proclaimed Donetsk People’s Republic in 2014, the separatist region in eastern Ukraine from which the rocket was launched. The Buk missile system originated from the Kursk-based 53rd Anti-Aircraft Missile Brigade of the Russian military.
The Joint Investigation Team is comprised of Dutch, Australian, Malaysian, Belgian, and Ukrainian professionals. The majority of casualties were Dutch. The investigation into the crew of the Russian Buk missile system that downed the airliner and those who authorised its deployment in Ukraine has proceeded.
The Netherlands Public Prosecution Service said on its website that intercepted phone calls between leaders of the breakaway region and “high-ranking Russian government officials held in the summer of 2014” indicate close ties between the leadership of the Donetsk People’s Republic and Russian government officials, which raises questions about their involvement with the deployment of the missile.
In addition to the criminal prosecution held in the Netherlands, the Dutch and Ukrainian governments have filed a lawsuit against Russia at the European Court of Human Rights for its alleged involvement in the downing of Flight MH17.
»Investigators claim Putin ‘supplied Buk missile’ that downed airliner MH17 over Ukraine«