Image copyright AFP Image caption Prosecutors said the missile was brought into Ukraine from Russia

International prosecutors say Malaysia Airlines flight MH17 was downed over eastern Ukraine in 2014 by a Buk missile that had come from Russia.

They also narrowed down the area it was fired from to a field in territory controlled by Russian-backed rebels.

All 298 people on board the Boeing 777 died when it broke apart in mid-air flying from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur.

Russia says it cannot accept the findings as the final truth, saying no Russian weapons were taken to Ukraine.

"Based on the criminal investigation, we have concluded that flight MH17 was downed by a Buk missile of the series 9M83 that came from the territory of the Russian Federation," chief Dutch police investigator Wilbert Paulissen told a news conference on Wednesday.

MH17 Malaysia plane crash: What we know

MH17 crash: The 298 who perished

The missile had been taken from Russia to rebel-held Ukraine in the morning of 17 July, when the plane was shot down, and the launcher was taken back to Russia the next day, he said.

The Dutch-led Joint Investigation Team (JIT) has also narrowed the missile launch site down to a specific field near the village of Pervomaiskyi, which was then in rebel hands.

Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption Prosecutors played recordings from intercepted phone calls during the news conference

In an interview with the BBC, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said there was "nothing to accept or deny", as he understood these were preliminary findings.

"We cannot accept as final truth of what they say. I bet you haven't seen any proof of what they say," he told the Hardtalk programme, adding: "We know the devil is in the detail, and we are still missing lot of the detail."

But he appeared to rule out that the missile came from Russia: "We've been ruling out the fact that any Russian weapons were shipped to Ukraine, any Russian army members, any Russian troops were inside Ukraine. And we're still ruling out that possibility."

Ukraine's President Petro Poroshenko hailed the inquiry's initial findings, saying: "We have solid proof of who is to blame for this dreadful crime."

Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte called the preliminary findings "an important step on the road to the ultimate goal: finding and prosecuting the perpetrators", whereas the Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak said his country sought "firm action" so that those responsible "will be brought to justice".

Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption There are still lots of unclear things and lots of contradictions says Dmitry Peskov

Who gave the order?

Justice is exactly what the relatives of the victims want.

"Apart from wanting to know exactly what weapon was used and where it was fired from, we also want an answer as to where we go from here," said Evert van Zijtveld, who lost his 18-year-old son Robert-Jan and daughter Frederique, 19, in the tragedy.

"We want to see the perpetrators caught and put on trial," he told the AFP news agency.

JIT prosecutors have established the identities of about 100 people "linked to the crash or the transport of the Buk" missile, but they are yet to determine who could be held criminally responsible.

They will need to establish who gave the order to move the missile launcher into eastern Ukraine, and where the order for it to be fired came from. All of this will take time, they say.

Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption How does a Buk missile system work?

Many witnesses

Prosecutors played recordings from intercepted phone calls during their news conference.

They said witnesses reported seeing the missile launcher move from Russia into Ukraine and presented pictures and videos.

The launch site was pinpointed by "many witnesses", prosecutors said.

Image copyright Reuters

A long, frustrating quest - Richard Galpin, BBC News

Near the village of Hrabove, where a large section of the Boeing 777 had come down, we soon found bodies scattered in the fields and a pile of suitcases by the side of the road. A child's diary lay open on the ground.

The intense heat from the crash had melted part of one of the wings and a section of human backbone lay in the ashes.

For the families of the 298 people killed when MH17 was shot down, today's report is a step forward in their long, frustrating quest to see those responsible brought to justice.

The confirmation that the missile launcher had been sent from Russia implies that Russian soldiers could have been involved at least in the transportation and possibly in the firing of the rocket.

But prosecutors admit they do not know who gave the order to shoot the plane down.

And while there is a determination to prosecute those responsible, it is very unclear that this will ever be possible, particularly if it would require Moscow to hand over suspects.

Image copyright Reuters

Separatist rebels have denied they were involved.

"We never had such air defence systems, nor the people who could operate them," Eduard Basurin, military deputy operational commander at the rebel Donetsk People's Republic, told the Interfax news agency.

"Therefore we could not have shot down the Boeing [flight MH17]."

An inquiry by the Dutch Safety Board last year found that a Russian-made Buk missile hit the plane but was not specific about where the launch site could have been.

Earlier this week, Russia said it had radar data showing that the missile was not fired from rebel-held territory.

The JIT does not yet have access to that data, prosecutors said.

Russia's changing story

In the two years since MH17 was shot down, Russian officials have presented several theories about what happened.

Image copyright EPA Image caption This week, Russia presented radar images which it said showed the missile could not have been fired from rebel territory

21 July 2014: Four days after the tragedy, Russia's defence ministry presented satellite photos and other images suggesting it was downed by a Ukrainian surface-to-air Buk missile or a Ukrainian military jet

June 2015: Russia's Investigations Committee named a "key witness" - a Ukrainian "aircraft ordnance technician" - who claimed that the Boeing was downed by a Ukrainian Su-25 fighter

October 2015: Buk missile producer Almaz-Antey said that the plane was indeed downed by a Buk, but an old one - which Russia no longer had in its arsenal

September 2016: Russia's defence ministry released what it said were radar data suggesting MH17 was shot down by a missile, but not one fired by Russian-backed rebels

Russia's changing version of events</s>NIEUWEGEIN, Netherlands — Dutch-led criminal investigators said Wednesday they have solid evidence that a Malaysian jet was shot down by a Buk missile moved into eastern Ukraine from Russia.

Wilbert Paulissen, head of the Central Crime Investigation department of the Dutch National Police, said communications intercepts showed that pro-Moscow rebels had called for deployment of the mobile surface-to-air weapon, and reported its arrival in rebel-controlled areas of eastern Ukraine.

From that and other evidence collected by the Joint Investigation Team, “it may be concluded 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,” Paulissen told a news conference.

The conclusions were billed as results of a two-year Dutch-led criminal probe of the disaster that claimed 298 lives.

A separate investigation by Dutch safety officials last year concluded that the Amsterdam-to-Kuala Lumpur flight was downed by a Buk missile fired from territory held by pro-Russian rebels.

Dutch police spokesman Thomas Aling said the joint investigation findings differ in that they are designed to be solid enough to be used as evidence in a criminal trial. Where and when a trial might take place is still to be determined, Aling said.

Russia has consistently denied allegations that pro-Moscow rebels in eastern Ukraine were responsible. On Monday, the Russian military said it has new radio-location data that show the missile that downed the Boeing 777 did not originate from rebel-controlled territory, and said it would turn the data over to investigators.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov reiterated that assertion on Wednesday ahead of the Dutch report.

“If there was a rocket it could only have been launched from a different area,” he told reporters, referring to Russian radar data. “You can’t argue with it, it can’t be discussed.”

In the Joint Investigation Team, Dutch police and judicial officials have been working with counterparts from Australia, Belgium, Malaysia and Ukraine, seeking to gather the best possible evidence for use in prosecution of the perpetrators.

They have faced extraordinary challenges: the crime scene in Ukraine’s eastern Donetsk oblast where the plane crashed on July 17, 2014, killing all aboard, was located in an active war zone, and during the days following the crash pro-Kremlin militants limited access to the site.

Eleven containers crammed with debris from the jetliner were ultimately brought to the Netherlands. A research team took soil samples in eastern Ukraine and established the location of cellphone towers and the layout of the local telephone network.

Forensic samples were taken from passengers’ and crew members’ bodies and luggage, and satellite data and communications intercepts were scrutinized. The team also appealed for information from witnesses who may have seen the missile launch.

About two-thirds of the passengers aboard MH17 were Dutch nationals; the crew members were Malaysians. Malaysia proposed setting up an international tribunal to try those responsible for the plane’s destruction, but Russia vetoed a U.N. Security Council resolution in favour of a tribunal.</s>NIEUWEGEIN, Netherlands -- A relative of a victim of the downing of a Malaysia Airlines plane over Ukraine says he and other family members have been told that a Dutch-led investigation has found proof that a mobile Buk missile launcher had been moved into eastern Ukraine from Russia at the time.

Hans de Borst, whose 17-year-old daughter perished in the shootdown, said he and other family members were briefed privately Wednesday morning before a news conference scheduled to announce the preliminary results of a Dutch-led investigation into the causes of the disaster.

He says the investigators said they had proof, including communications intercepts and radar data, that a mobile Buk missile launcher had been moved into eastern Ukraine from Russia. He says investigators said the launcher was moved back into Russia after the Boeing 777 was downed.

A separate investigation by Dutch safety officials last year found the Amsterdam-to-Kuala Lumpur flight was downed by a Buk missile fired from territory held by pro-Russian rebels.

Dutch police spokesman Thomas Aling said the investigation findings to be announced Wednesday differ in that they are designed to be solid enough to be used as evidence in a criminal trial. Where and when a trial might take place is still to be determined, Aling said.

Russia has consistently denied allegations that pro-Moscow rebels in eastern Ukraine were responsible.

On Monday, the Russian military said it has new radiolocation data that show the missile that downed the Boeing 777 did not originate from rebel-controlled territory, and said it would turn the data over to investigators.</s>International prosecutors investigating the downing of a Malaysian airliner two years ago have concluded it was shot down by a Russian-made missile fired from rebel-held territory in eastern Ukraine, victims’ family members said on Wednesday.

Families were informed of the prosecutors’ findings shortly before a news conference was due to start in the central Dutch city of Nieuwegein on the outcome of the investigation.

A surface-to-air missile hit Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 on its way from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur on July 17th, 2014, killing all 298 people aboard, most of them Dutch citizens.

Robby Oehlers, the cousin of 20-year-old victim Daisy Oehlers, said investigators had also identified 100 potential suspects in the plane’s downing.

Families were also told that the Buk missile system that was used to shoot down the plane had been transported from Russia into Ukraine, and was returned to Russia immediately afterward.

The Kremlin said before the family members spoke that radar data showed the plane was not brought down by a rocket fired from territory held by pro-Russian separatists in eastern Ukraine.

“First-hand radar data identified all flying objects which could have been launched or in the air over the territory controlled by rebels at that moment,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said in Moscow.

“The data are clear-cut...there is no rocket. If there was a rocket, it could only have been fired from elsewhere.”

At the time of the incident, pro-Russian separatists were fighting Ukrainian government forces in the region. The Boeing 777 broke apart in midair, flinging wreckage over several kilometres of fields in rebel-held territory.

The prosecutors from the Netherlands, Australia, Belgium, Malaysia and Ukraine have said they will release details of the firing location and type of BUK missile used in the attack, taking them a step closer to identifying individual culprits.

Prosecutors cannot file charges because there is no international agreement on what court a case would be heard in.

Silene Fredriksz, whose 23-year-old son Bryce was on the airplane with his girlfriend, Daisy Oehlers expects the investigators to say the missile was fired from the rebel-held town of Snizhne.

“We will be able to deduce whether it was Russian or Ukrainian. And I think we will just get a confirmation of what we have thought for months: that is was the prior,” Fredriksz said before meeting investigators.

“This is an important step. As a family we are impatient. We want to know what happened, how it happened and why. We want those responsible to face justice,” she said.

If the investigation confirms that theory, which is supported by photographic evidence and witness statements collected by Reuters, it will directly challenging Moscow’s suggestion that the plane was brought down by the Ukrainian military.

At the time, the nearest Ukrainian-held area was about 6 km (3.7 miles) away.

The downing played a significant part in a decision by the European Union and United States to impose sanctions on Russia over the Ukraine conflict, and East-West tensions escalated to levels not seen since the Cold War ended.

Ukrainian and Western officials, citing intelligence intercepts, have blamed pro-Russian rebels for the incident. Russia has always denied direct involvement in the Ukraine conflict and rejects responsibility for the destruction of MH17.

A civilian investigation into the cause of the incident by the Dutch Safety Board concluded last year that the airliner had been downed by a Russian-made BUK missile launched from eastern Ukraine.

Dutch prosecutor Fred Westerbeke, head of the investigative team, said earlier it had a “long list of persons of interest” in the case and had been analysing airplane debris and ballistics found at the scene.

Prosecutors could also indicate what charges they are considering bringing - for instance criminal negligence.

Prosecutors have sought legal assistance from Moscow since October 2014, and visited in person for a week in July.

“Russian authorities have offered information in the past, but have not answered all questions,” they said in a statement at the time.</s>(CNN) Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 was downed over eastern Ukraine by a Buk missile brought in from Russia and fired from a village under the control of pro-Russian separatists, a team of international prosecutors said Wednesday.

Speaking at a press conference in the Dutch city of Nieuwegein, Wilbert Paulissen, the head of the Dutch National Detective Force, said there was conclusive evidence that a missile from the Russian-made Buk 9M38 missile system downed the passenger flight on July 17, 2014, killing all 298 people on board.

The Buk was returned to Russian territory the next day, said Paulissen, presenting the findings of the Joint Investigation Team (JIT), a Dutch-led group of prosecutors gathering evidence for a potential criminal trial into the downing of MH17.

"We have no doubt whatsoever that conclusions we are presenting today are accurate," he said.

Ukraine's Ministry of Foreign Affairs said the findings pointed to the "direct involvement" of Russia, and said an investigation was ongoing into specific suspects and their "place in the chain of command" in order to pursue a criminal case.

Russia, which has repeatedly denied any involvement in the downing of the plane, rejected the report.

"None of the missile complexes, including BUK, have ever crossed Russian-Ukrainian border," said Russia's spokesman for the Ministry of Defense, Igor Konashenkov, in a statement.

"All data presented today is based upon two sources -- the Internet and Ukrainian security services. That's why the objectivity of this data, and so of all the conclusions made based on it, leaves us with doubt."

Evidence presented by the JIT Wednesday included intercepted phone calls, witness accounts and material on social media that investigators said established the missile system's route in a convoy into Ukraine, which was displayed in a computer-generated animation.

Paulissen said the missile was fired from farmland near the village of Pervomaysk which was under the control of pro-Russian rebels at the time -- a conclusion supported by satellite data from the United States and the European Space Agency.

Dutch prosecutor Fred Westerbeke said there were about 100 people linked "in one way or another" to the transportation and firing of the Buk, but they were yet to formally identify individual suspects.

He said prosecutors were still seeking a clearer picture around the chain of command: "Who ordered to transport the Buk, who ordered the MH17 to be shot down, if the crew took their own decisions, or were they operating on instructions from above?"

But they believed there was a realistic chance that the perpetrators would be brought to justice, he said.

Investigators said they were not about to make any statement about the involvement of Russia, or Russians, in the downing of the plane.

The findings are the first released by the group, comprised of prosecutors from the Netherlands, Australia, Belgium, Malaysia and Ukraine, in its criminal investigation into the downing of Flight MH17. Nearly 200 of those on board were Dutch citizens.

Family members of the victims were briefed ahead of the public release of the report.

Dennis Schouten, whose brother-in-law and brother-in-law's girlfriend were killed, said he was grateful to the JIT for having put "some of the conspiracies" around the flight to rest.

"We can be sure it was a Buk installation that has brought down MH17," he said.

Schouten said that the findings meant that Russia had "to do some explaining."

"We can surely say they have a part in this story," he said.

He said the key step to get justice for the victims was to identify those responsible for ordering the shootdown.

"They want to get to know their names. That is the most important thing. We know everything else but who."

Piet Ploeg, a relative of another MH17 victim, said "there was evidence before that Russia was involved, but now [we] are sure."

Last year, a civilian investigation conducted by the Dutch Safety Board concluded that the Boeing aircraft was shot down by a Russian-made Buk missile. But the investigation was not required to assign blame for the missile strike, and did not say who was responsible.

Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said in a statement Wednesday that the JIT had suspended Moscow from full participation in the investigation, relegating its efforts to only a minor role.

"It sounds like a bad joke, but at the same time they made Ukraine a full member of the investigative commission, giving it an opportunity to forge evidence and wrap the case in their favor," she said.

Justin Bronk, a research fellow specializing in combat airpower and technology at the Royal United Services Institute, said Russia's suggestion of Ukrainian responsibility was "absolutely ludicrous, for fairly simple reasons."

"The Ukrainian military hasn't fired a single surface-to-air missile in the entire multi-year conflict because the rebels don't have an air force," he said.

"So the only kind of potentially hostile aircraft they might encounter would be Russian air force jets and the last thing Ukraine wants is to give Russia a pretext for even more overt military confrontation on its soil."

He said the notion that the Ukrainian forces would fire at an airliner that had been in contact with their country's air traffic control and was leaving the country's air space was "just insulting."

The airline said Wednesday it was monitoring the progress of the JIT's criminal investigation closely.

"We are ensuring that all those affected by this tragic incident are kept fully informed. Our thoughts and deepest sympathies are to the families and friends of the passengers and crew onboard Flight MH17."</s>NIEUWEGEIN, Netherlands — Dutch-led criminal investigators said Wednesday they have solid evidence that a Malaysian jet was shot down in 2014 by a Buk missile that was moved into eastern Ukraine from Russia.

Wilbert Paulissen, head of the Central Crime Investigation department of the Dutch National Police, said communications intercepts showed that pro-Moscow rebels had called for deployment of the mobile surface-to-air weapon and reported its arrival on July 17, 2014, in rebel-controlled areas of eastern Ukraine.

The deadly surface-to-air weapon that blasted Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 out of the sky that same day at 33,000 feet, killing all 298 people aboard, was launched from farmland in the rebel-held area of Pervomaiskiy, 5 kilometers (3 miles) from the eastern Ukrainian town of Snizhne, the investigation found.

Witnesses there reported an explosion and a whistling sound and a patch of field was set on fire.

From that and other evidence collected by the Joint Investigation Team, "it may be concluded 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," Paulissen told a news conference Wednesday in the Dutch town of Nieuwegein.

The conclusions of the investigative unit - which includes police and prosecutors from the Netherlands, Ukraine, Belgium, Australia and Malaysia - were consistent with previous reporting by The Associated Press, which established soon after MH17's destruction that a tracked Buk M-1 launcher with four SA-11 surface-to-air missiles had been sighted the same day in the rebel-controlled town of Snizhne near Pervomaiskiy.

A separate investigation by Dutch safety officials last year concluded that the Amsterdam-to-Kuala Lumpur flight was downed by a Buk missile fired from territory in Ukraine held by pro-Russian rebels.

Dutch police spokesman Thomas Aling said the joint investigation findings differ in that they are designed to be solid enough to be used as evidence in a criminal trial. Where and when a trial might take place is still to be determined, Aling said.

"The next question, of course, is who was responsible for this," Dutch chief prosecutor Fred Westerbeke said. He said investigators have identified 100 people they want to speak to who are believed to have been involved in the transport of the Buk launcher or its use.

Moscow officials have consistently denied allegations that pro-Kremlin rebels in eastern Ukraine were responsible for downing the passenger plane. The Russian Foreign Ministry reacted quickly to the release of the international investigation's findings, calling the probe "biased and politically motivated."

The Dutch-led investigation ignored evidence offered by Russia and allowed Ukraine to manipulate the evidence and shape anti-Russian conclusions, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said.

Russian Defense Ministry spokesman Maj. Gen. Igor Konashenkov also denied that Russian air defense missile systems ever have been sent to Ukraine.

"Russian missile defense systems, including Buk, have never crossed the Russian-Ukrainian border," Konashenkov said.

Earlier this week, the Russian military said that newly found data from radar in southern Russia showed that the missile that downed the Malaysia Airlines jet did not originate in rebel-controlled territory. It said it would turn that data over to investigators.

The Russian maker of the Buk air defense missile system also contested the conclusions of the Dutch-led investigation.

Mikhail Malyshevsky, an adviser to the director of the state-controlled Almaz-Antei consortium, said Wednesday that an analysis of the plane's shrapnel-ridden fragments show that it couldn't have been downed by a missile launched from a rebel-controlled area in eastern Ukraine.

Malyshevsky said the missile likely came from an area that Russian officials have previously described as Ukraine-controlled.

Ukrainian officials countered that the Dutch-led team's findings prove Russia's complicity in the tragedy.

"It is proved that the Buk had come into our territory from Russian territory," Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko said. "After the crime, when terrorists tried to cover up traces, the Buk was immediately taken back to Russia. Thus, we have solid proof of who to blame for this dreadful crime and who bears full responsibility for the terrorist attack."

Police and judicial officials from five countries on the Joint Investigation Team have been working together to gather the best possible evidence for use in prosecution of the perpetrators.

They have faced extraordinary challenges. The crime scene in Ukraine's eastern Donetsk oblast region where the plane was brought down on July 17, 2014, was located in an active war zone. During the days following the downing, pro-Kremlin militants limited access to the crash site.

Eleven containers crammed with debris from the jetliner were ultimately brought to the Netherlands. A research team took soil samples in eastern Ukraine and established the location of cellphone towers and the layout of the local telephone network to verify intercepted phone calls from the militants.

Forensic samples were taken from passengers' and crew members' bodies and luggage, and satellite data and communications intercepts were scrutinized. The team also appealed for information from witnesses who may have seen the missile launch.

About two-thirds of the passengers aboard MH17 were Dutch nationals; the crew members were Malaysians. Malaysia proposed setting up an international tribunal to try those responsible for the plane's destruction, but Russia vetoed a U.N. Security Council resolution in favor of a tribunal.

In Washington, U.S. State Department spokesman John Kirby hailed the investigators' report as "another step toward bringing to justice those responsible for this outrageous attack."

Associated Press Writers Vladimir Isachenkov in Moscow and Bradley Klapper in Washington contributed to this story.</s>An international criminal investigation into the shooting down of flight MH17 is likely to conclude that the plane was downed by a Buk missile fired from separatist-controlled territory in eastern Ukraine, diplomats say.



The Dutch-led Joint Investigation Team (JIT) has been gathering evidence for a possible criminal trial and is due to present its interim findings on Wednesday. Dutch police and prosecutors have been working with judicial colleagues from Australia, Belgium, Malaysia and Ukraine.

The report follows an earlier inquiry by the Dutch Safety Board. It concluded a missile fired by a sophisticated Buk surface-to-air system struck the Malaysia Airlines aircraft as it flew from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur. It exploded next to the cockpit. All 298 people on board were killed.

According to diplomatic sources, international investigators will give a precise Google location showing that the Buk was located in separatist-controlled territory, near the village of Snizhne.

The JIT has been working on the scenario that the Buk came from the Kremlin’s 53rd anti-aircraft missile brigade based in the Russian city of Kursk. It was smuggled across the Russian-Ukrainian border in July 2014 and spotted leaving rebel-held Donetsk on a low-loader, heading east.



After arriving in Snizhne on the afternoon of 17 July, the Buk was offloaded and driven to a field south of town, investigators believe. It shot down MH17 in error, believing it to be a Ukrainian army transport plane. The Buk was smuggled back across the Russian border early the next day.

The JIT’s findings are based on US satellite data, and multiple sightings of the Buk as it trundled through rebel-held areas. In a Russian-language video investigators urged witnesses who may have seen it to come forward.

“There is a wide presumption in diplomatic circles that this report will point to the involvement of pro-Russian rebels or Russia,” said Robert van de Roer, a Dutch diplomatic expert and commentator. “It will cause high waves.”

According to Van de Roer, investigators have not yet been able to identify “the guy who pushed the button” on the Buk missile. They do know the names of about 20 Russian servicemen from the 53rd brigade in Kursk who could form a “broad circle of suspects,” he said.

The names came from the British-led online investigation team Bellingcat. “I’m told by experts you need at least three or four men to handle a Buk,” Van de Roer added.

Van de Roer said he was pessimistic that Russia’s president, Vladimir Putin, would cooperate with the tribunal or hand over possible suspects to the Hague for trial. He also described the Dutch government’s approach as “bureaucratic and legalistic”.

“My fear is that this will end up as a kind of Lockerbie,” he said, adding that in the case of the 1988 Pan Am bombing it was never known if Abdelbaset al-Megrahi – convicted in 2001 – was the only perpetrator.

“The simple question is what will [British foreign secretary] Boris Johnson do? He has talked harsh words in the last few days over Russia in Syria. Will he be just as tough with the Russians over MH17?”

Russia has vehemently denied responsibility. On Monday the its ministry of defence released satellite data which it said proved the missile had not been fired from rebel territory. It suggested Ukraine was responsible.

In 2014, however, the same ministry claimed a mysterious Ukrainian fighter jet had shot down the Boeing 777. The “jet” disappeared from Russia’s latest presentation. MH17’s route had also changed.

Last December Bellingcat passed to Dutch prosecutors a detailed dossier of up to 100 Russian soldiers and officers who may have been involved. Bellingcat drew on open source data. The dossier included photos posted by soldiers on social networks as their military convoy drove towards the Ukrainian border.

The JIT is not expected to reveal the identities of the soldiers in its latest report. They are expected to be included in a future criminal file.

The tribunal has made public intercepted phone calls between separatist leaders. In one, a rebel asks what should be done with the Buk, newly arrived from Russia. In another a rebel says one of the Buk’s crew was left behind near the village of Snizhne and needs to be picked up.

A third conversation was recorded at 8am on 18 July, as the Buk went back to Russia. It began: “Good morning. Yesterday was a mess … I have nothing to say.”</s>MALAYSIA Airlines Flight 17 was downed over eastern Ukraine by a Buk missile brought in from Russia to a pro-Russian area of eastern Ukraine, the head of the Dutch National Detective Force, Wilbert Paulissen said Wednesday.

 Speaking at a press conference in the Netherlands, Paulissen said there was conclusive evidence that the Buk, a Russian-made missile, shot down the passenger flight, and was subsequently returned to Russian territory, CNN stated.

 He made the comments at the release of a report by the Joint Investigation Team, a Dutch-led group of prosecutors gathering evidence for a potential criminal trial.

 The findings are the first released by the group, comprised of prosecutors from the Netherlands, Australia, Belgium, Malaysia and Ukraine, in its criminal investigation into the downing of Flight MH17.

 The Amsterdam-Kuala Lumpur flight was shot down over eastern Ukraine on July 17, 2014, killing all 298 people on board, including 196 Dutch citizens.

 Last year, a civilian investigation conducted by the Dutch Safety Board concluded that the Boeing aircraft was shot down by a Russian-made Buk missile. But the investigation was not required to assign blame for the missile strike, and did not say who was responsible.

 The widely accepted theory is that the aircraft was shot down from within territory held by Russian-backed separatists, who were engaged in heavy fighting with Ukrainian forces at the time.

 On Monday, Russia’s defense ministry released radar data which it claimed refuted that theory, saying it showed that if the plane was shot down, it was done so by Ukrainian forces. Ukrainian officials have not responded to the allegation.</s>The missile that brought down Malaysian Airline flight MH17 was transported into East Ukraine from Russia, according to prosecutors.

Prosecutors said they were not accusing Russia of involvement and there were 100 people "linked to the crash or the transport of the Buk" missile, but they are yet to determine who could be held criminally responsible.

Families of the 298 passengers and crew killed on the Boeing 777-300 flight have been told that the Buk missile used to shoot down the plane came into East Ukraine from Russia.

Hans de Borst, whose 17-year-old daughter perished, said he and other family members were briefed privately before the news conference to announce the preliminary results of the investigation today.

According to Mr de Borst, Dutch investigators said they had proof that a mobile Buk missile launcher had been moved into eastern Ukraine from Russia and was later returned.

Chief Dutch police investigator Wilbert Paulissen said:"Based on the criminal investigation, we have concluded that flight MH17 was downed by a Buk missile of the series 9M83 that came from the territory of the Russian Federation."

The conclusions came after a two-year Dutch-led criminal probe of the disaster.

A separate investigation by Dutch safety officials last year concluded that the Amsterdam-to-Kuala Lumpur flight was downed by a Buk missile fired from territory held by pro-Russian rebels.

Russia has consistently denied allegations that pro-Moscow rebels in eastern Ukraine were responsible for the disaster in July 2014.

On Monday, the Russian military said it has new radio-location data that show the missile that downed the aircraft did not originate from rebel-controlled territory, and said it would turn the data over to investigators.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov reiterated that assertion today ahead of the Dutch report.

Referring to Russian radar data, he said: "If there was a rocket it could only have been launched from a different area.

“You can't argue with it, it can't be discussed."

As part of a joint investigation, Dutch police and judicial officials have been working with counterparts from Australia, Belgium, Malaysia and Ukraine, seeking to gather the best possible evidence for use in prosecution of the perpetrators.

Forensic samples were taken from passengers' and crew members' bodies and luggage, and satellite data and communications intercepts were scrutinised. The team also appealed for information from witnesses who may have seen the missile launch.

About two-thirds of the passengers aboard MH17 were Dutch nationals and the crew members were Malaysians.

Malaysia proposed setting up an international tribunal to try those responsible for the plane's destruction, but Russia vetoed a UN Security Council resolution in favour of a tribunal.</s>Relatives of victims of the shooting-down of a Malaysia Airlines jetliner over Ukraine more than two years ago were gathering Wednesday to learn the preliminary results of a Dutch-led criminal probe of the disaster that claimed 298 lives.

The team that is conducting the largest investigation in Dutch history is scheduled to brief victims' families behind closed doors Wednesday morning. Investigators will hold a news conference later in the day to make their findings public.

Thomas Schansman, father of the only U.S. citizen killed in the July 2014 disaster, said he expects investigators to identify which specific weapon they believe destroyed flight MH17, and where it was fired from. He said family members do not expect investigators at this stage to name the people they believe were responsible.

A separate investigation by Dutch safety officials last year found the Amsterdam-to-Kuala Lumpur flight was downed by a Buk missile fired from territory held by pro-Russian rebels.

Dutch police spokesman Thomas Aling said the investigation findings to be announced Wednesday differ in that they are designed to be solid enough to be used as evidence in a criminal trial. Where and when a trial might take place is still to be determined, Aling said.

Russia has consistently denied allegations that pro-Moscow rebels in eastern Ukraine were responsible. On Monday, the Russian military said it has new radiolocation data that show the missile that downed the Boeing 777 did not originate from rebel-controlled territory, and said it would turn the data over to investigators.
Dutch-led investigators say Malaysia Airlines flight MH17 was downed over eastern Ukraine in 2014 by a Buk missile that had come from Russia.