The official conclusion, announced by Wilbert Paulissen, the head of the national criminal investigation service of the National Police of the Netherlands backs and confirms the theory of NGO Bellingcat that Russian military missiles were involved. Malaysia Airlines' flight MH17 left Amsterdam bound for Kuala Lumpur but was shot down by a missile over eastern Ukraine on July 17, 2014. The trail of smoke left by a missile after it was fired by a the Buk-M1 system at MH17 by pro-Russia rebels, according to the Ukraine government. The mid-air explosion killed all 298 people aboard, and set off a diplomatic firestorm. Of the dead passengers, 193 were Dutch and 38 were Australian citizens or residents.

The investigation team announced they had found seven visual "fingerprints" of the Buk-TELAR missile from the 53rd brigade, which matched photos and videos taken both within Russia and inside Ukraine around the time that MH17 was shot down. They included a transport number which had been partially painted over - which is typically done when a military vehicle is deployed into action. The visual fingerprints were unique to one particular Buk-TELAR belonging to Russia's 53rd brigade and not to any other, the investigators found. Fred Westerbeke, chief prosecutor of the National Prosecutor’s Office of the Netherlands, said he could still not answer the questions why, and who was responsible for the atrocity, but that the investigation was "steadily progressing". The right forum to reveal and test their conclusions about individuals to blame, he said, was a court, not a press conference.

Australian foreign minister Julie Bishop said the fact that a "sophisticated weapon belonging to the Russian Army was dispatched and used to shoot down a civilian aircraft should be of grave international concern. "We are discussing these findings with our partners and considering our options ... Australia and our JIT partners are united in pursuing justice for those who lost their lives, including 38 people who called Australia home, and their loved ones, and to hold to account those responsible for this atrocious act." Women look at the debris of downed Malaysian flight MH17 cockpit site on the outskirts of Rassypnoye village in the self proclaimed Donetsk People's Republic, East Ukraine. This year’s federal budget included $50 million over the next four years for “national prosecution of those responsible for downing,” MH17, suggesting preparations are well underway for bringing the culprits to court. The money is for Australia’s share of the prosecution costs as well as support for family members of the victims to participate in the court proceedings.

The JIT includes Australian Federal Police officers alongside experts from Belgium, Malaysia, the Netherlands and Ukraine. The finding comes after families of some of those who died signed an open letter to the Russian people saying the FIFA World Cup in Russia next month would have a "different, darker meaning" for them. The letter was signed by the relatives of nine victims, including three Australians, who were on board the plane when it was shot down over Ukraine by a Russian Buk missile in July 2014. They expressed their support for the international team of investigators. "Despite it being nearly four years since our lives were shattered, we struggle to comprehend what happened," the letter says. “We hold the Russian state and its leaders as ultimately responsible for the deaths of our family members. All the credible evidence points in that direction."

The signatory families said they had "confidence in the thoroughness and impartiality of the work" of the Joint Investigation Team. The letter writers said they hoped the World Cup would be something that ordinary Russians could take pleasure and pride in. "But we cannot deny that from our perspective, a shadow hangs over this event. We are painfully aware of the dark irony that the Russian leaders who will profess to welcome the world with open arms, are those who are chiefly to blame for shattering our world. "And that it is these same leaders who have persistently sought to hide the truth, and who have evaded responsibility ever since that dreadful day in July 2014."

The letter is signed by Jon and Meryn O’Brien, parents of Jack, who was among 298 who lost their lives, including 38 Australian citizens and residents. Jack O'Brien was returning from a seven-week holiday in Europe when he boarded the Malaysia Airlines flight in Amsterdam. It is also signed by Paul Guard, who lost his parents Jill and Roger, and other bereaved families from the UK and the Netherlands. In 2016, in its previous interim report, the JIT announced that MH17 had been hit by a Russian-made Buk missile fired from the village of Pervomaysk held by pro-Russian rebels in eastern Ukraine; and that the missile launcher had been transported into Ukraine from Russia.

It reached this conclusion based on wire taps, photographs, witness statements and forensic tests. Within days the international community began an investigation. Australian Federal Police and Defence Force members were dispatched to secure the site and begin an examination and collection of debris. Foreign Minister Julie Bishop undertook an active campaign of engagement with Dutch and other European nations to respond to the event. The first report on the explosion released in September that year concluded that damage to the plane came from "a large number of high-energy objects from outside the aircraft ." Then-prime minister Tony Abbott pledged to "shirtfront" Russian President Vladimir Putin when he came to Australia for the G20 Summit in Brisbane in November 2014.

“If Russia continues to deny responsibility it will be hard to avoid the conclusion that it has become a rogue state.” Kremlin-friendly media outlets pushed out a surge of misinformation and counter-narratives around the event, claiming that a Ukrainian jet fighter shot the plane down, then that a Ukrainian missile did. However, Bellingcat, a British-based open-source investigation group, culled maps, social media postings and other evidence online to show that a Russian's anti-aircraft missile brigade was behind the shooting-down of the plane. In July 2015 at the United Nations, Julie Bishop lobbied for a tribunal to prosecute those who were to blame . The draft was vetoed by Russia an act, she said, which "only compounds the atrocity". "The recital of discredited contentions and the anticipated excuses and obfuscation by the Russian Federation should be treated with the utmost disdain."</s>Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption Investigators said they had evidence of the route taken by a Russian missile convoy

The missile that downed a Malaysia Airlines flight over eastern Ukraine in 2014 belonged to a Russian brigade, international investigators say.

For the first time, the Dutch-led team said the missile had come from a unit based in western Russia.

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

It was hit by a missile fired from rebel-held territory in Ukraine. Russia says none of its weapons was used.

But on Thursday Wilbert Paulissen, a Dutch official from the Joint Investigation Team (JIT), told reporters: "All the vehicles in a convoy carrying the missile were part of the Russian armed forces."

He restated the JIT's conclusion that the plane had been destroyed by a Russian-made Buk missile, adding that it had been supplied by the country's 53rd anti-aircraft brigade in Kursk.

At a news conference in the Dutch city of Utrecht, the investigators also showed social media pictures which they said traced the route the missile convoy had taken to reach eastern Ukraine.

What happened to MH17?

The incident occurred at the height of the conflict between government troops and pro-Russian separatists.

The plane left Amsterdam's Schiphol Airport on 17 July 2014 and was due to arrive at Kuala Lumpur in Malaysia on the following day.

The plane lost contact with air traffic control about 50km (30 miles) from the Russia-Ukraine border.

Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption In 2015, the Dutch Safety Board released an animated video showing the flight path of the plane

It crashed in the Donetsk area, in territory controlled by pro-Russian separatists.

Footage was later released by the Ukrainian government suggesting that a Buk missile had been brought in from Russia on the day of the crash, and then taken back across the border the next day.

What has been said about the incident?

In October 2015 the Dutch Safety Board concluded that the plane had indeed been hit by a Buk missile.

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

In September 2016, the JIT - which includes officials from the Netherlands, Australia, Belgium, Malaysia and Ukraine - reached a similar conclusion in a preliminary report.

It said it had "irrefutable evidence" that the missile had been brought in from Russian territory and fired from a field controlled by pro-Russian fighters.

The investigators simulated various trajectories of the warhead. They showed it had exploded metres above the aeroplane's nose, showering the aircraft with fragments.

On Thursday Russia restated its position that none of its forces had been involved. "Not a single anti-aircraft missile system from the Russian Federation has ever crossed the Russia-Ukraine border," the defence ministry in Moscow said.

Meanwhile Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko promised in a Facebook post (in Ukrainian) that he would "spare no effort to ensure that the actions of the Russian Federation as a state which supports terrorism get an appropriate assessment" in the International Court of Justice.</s>"It is also worth mentioning that the United States has not provided satellite images, the presence of which was announced immediately after the catastrophe," Zakharova said as quoted on the website of the Russian Foreign Ministry.

Earlier in the day, the Russian Defense Ministry refuted allegations by the British-based group Bellingcat that Russian intelligence officers were involved in the downing of MH17.

"As for the officers mentioned in the Bellingcat report, they have long been dismissed from the military service. The Russian Defense Ministry has no information about their activities outside the armed forces," the statement said.

On Thursday, the Dutch-led Joint Investigative Team said the missile that downed the aircraft was launched by a Buk system belonging to the Russian Armed Forces. However, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has told his Dutch counterpart Stef Blok that the JIT probe into the downing of flight MH17 had completely ignored important data provided by the Russian side.

The Malaysia Airlines plane crash killed all 298 people on board. The majority of the passengers and crew were from the Netherlands, Malaysia and Australia.</s>AN international team of investigators has determined that the missile which blew Malaysia Airlines Flight MH17 out of the sky nearly four years ago came from a Russia-based military unit.

International representatives, including Australian Federal Police, today gathered in the Netherlands to announce they had found “convincing evidence” that MH17 was shot down by a Buk-TELAR missile from Russia.

Wilbert Paulissen of the Dutch National Police said that detailed analysis of video images showed the missile was from the Russian military’s 53rd anti-aircraft missile brigade based in the Russian city of Kursk.

The top Dutch investigator said the international Joint Investigation Team “has come to the conclusion that the BUK-TELAR that shot down MH17 came from 53rd Anti-aircraft Missile Brigade based in Kursk in Russia”.

“The 53rd Brigade forms part of the Russian armed forces,” he said.

Mr Paulissen, who was speaking at a presentation of interim results of the long-running investigation into the downing of flight MH17, said an “extensive comparative investigation” of images had revealed the missile’s “fingerprint” and determined the result. The finding backs and confirms the theory of Bellingcat that Russian military missiles were involved.

Australia and other countries are now considering the next steps towards prosecution.

Earlier findings said the missile launch site was an agricultural field controlled by pro-Russian fighters.

Foreign Minister Julie Bishop said Australia, Belgium, Malaysia, the Netherlands and Ukraine were now “considering options”.

The countries were united to pursue justice for those who lost their lives as well as their loved ones, she said.

“That a sophisticated weapon belonging to the Russian Army was dispatched and used to shoot down a civilian aircraft should be of grave international concern,” Ms Bishop said.

Flight MH17 was headed from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, when it was blown out of the sky over eastern Ukraine, 40km south of the Russian border on July 17, 2014. All 298 passengers and crew were killed, including 40 Australian citizens and residents. Among the dead were Western Australia siblings Mo, 12, Evie, 10, and Otis, eight, along with their grandfather, Nick Norris.

Russia has always denied involvement in the downing of the jet.

This year’s federal budget allocated $50.3 million over four years to support the Dutch national prosecution of those responsible for the attack. The money will meet Australia’s share of the prosecution costs and help family members of the victims to participate in the court proceedings.

The international criminal probe had previously concluded that the Russian missile was fired from Russia-backed rebel-controlled territory but until now had not determined who was responsible. Tapped phone calls and images posted on social media helped the team of investigators determine that missiles were transported by road from Russia into eastern Ukraine before one was fired.

It was revealed soon after the crash that Russian-backed rebels in Ukraine’s east believed they had shot down a Ukraine Airforce fighter jet as disturbing new footage showed them ransacking the luggage of passengers and crew from MH17.

Video footage showing the aftermath of the downed airliner, smouldering over three main wreckage sites about the rebel stronghold of the embattled Dontesk region, provided vital clues into the tragedy.

The 17-minute long footage smuggled out from the rebels’ own Donetsk base, clearly identified the militia by face and in one instance his self proclaimed Donetsk People’s Republic ID, as they disturbingly worked around the dismembered bodies of the passengers and crew to rummage through their belongings to find things of value.

The armed unit from Donetsk had come to the site after being dispatched shortly after 3pm local time, two hours after contact by civilian air traffic control was lost at 1.20pm, to hunt Ukrainian pilots who reportedly parachuted after their aircraft was shot down.

They followed a smoke plume from the wreckage to arrive at the site and begin the hunt for the pilots with militia reporting locals as having seen one “crawling” from the scene after parachuting to safety.

But to their confusion, arriving at the scene they find more blazing wreckage and debris than expected before a mobile telephone call was received telling them two aircraft were downed.

The confusion by militia on the day was compounded by the fact MH17 was carrying spare aircraft parts, including struts and rotors for helicopters, leading them to believe more than one aircraft was among that debris.

Speaking in both Russian and Ukrainian, they expressed shock at the backpack of an Australian victim, before they pored through the person’s belongings including a wash bag.

They tossed numerous other bags and make a piled collection of phones and other goods.

The militia unit commander on site ordered civilians to be cleared from the area and all filming to stop, citing his fear it could end up on the internet, after receiving a call from headquarters. He even asked those filming to ensure none of their faces are shown as they go through the bags. He then instructed his men to fan out and retrieve the black box flight recorders and put everything in his car.

The commander could be heard off camera saying: “They say the Sukhoi (Fighter) brought down the civilian plane and ours brought down the fighter.

“But where is the Sukhoi?

“There it is … it’s the passenger plane.”

Later he was shown an ID card belonging to an air stewardess.

“You see, they are foreigners, Malaysians,” he said.

“Who’s opened a corridor for them to fly over here?” a colleague asked.

“Even a f**king parrot flew. There are birds everywhere, here’s one, here’s another. Where from? There’s another bird there!”

The exotic colourful birds were part of the MH17 cargo consignment flying to Malaysia.

The commander received numerous phone calls from people believed to include Ruslan, a rebel military commander from Donetsk, Vladimir Antyufeyev, former Russian policeman turned Donetsk rebel political leader, and Kalyian a rebel commander from the equally embattled province of Lugansk.</s>"The conclusion, voiced by the JIT during a press conference on May 24, that the Buk air defense system, which launched a missile at the aircraft, arrived in Ukraine from Russia and belonged to the 53nd Air Defense Brigade stationed in Kursk, causes us regret," the ministry said in a statement.

According to the statement, the Dutch-led Joint Investigation Team (JIT) has ignored a significant amount of information, including radar monitoring data that cannot be manipulated.

"In these circumstances, we have legitimate questions about the true reason for the JIT decision to announce the preliminary conclusions of the probe. In out opinion, all this only confirms our earlier concerns about the biased and one-sided approach to the ongoing investigation," the statement said.

"Nevertheless, we will continue to assist the [international] investigation so that the truth about the MN17 catastrophe is established, and the real culprits of the tragedy receive fair punishment," the ministry added.

READ MORE: Missile Allegedly Used to Down MH17 Invisible Due to Speed — Dutch Prosecutors

Earlier in the day, head of the Dutch National Police's Central Crime Investigation department Wilbert Paulissen said that the missile, which downed Malaysia Airlines Flight MH17 in eastern Ukraine in 2014, was launched by the Buk TELAR belonging to the Russian Armed Forces.

Back in 2016, the Dutch-led Joint Investigation Team already presented the initial results of the criminal investigation into the crash, claiming that the airliner was downed by a Buk surface-to-air missile launcher which was delivered from the "territory of the Russian Federation to Ukraine."

Malaysian Airlines' Boeing 777 crashed in eastern Ukraine in July 2014 during its flight to Kuala Lumpur from Amsterdam, while all 298 passengers and crew members on board were killed.</s>BUNNIK, Netherlands (Reuters) - Dutch prosecutors identified a Russian military unit on Thursday as the source of the missile that shot down Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 over eastern Ukraine in 2014, killing all 296 people on board.

The airliner flying from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur was hit by a Russian-made “Buk” anti-aircraft missile on July 17, 2014 over territory held by pro-Russian separatists. There were no survivors. Two thirds of those killed were Dutch.

“The Buk that was used came from the Russian army, the 53rd brigade,” Chief Dutch Prosecutor Fred Westerbeke told Reuters. “We know that was used, but the people in charge of this Buk, we don’t know.”

Investigators appealed to the public to come forward and help identify members of the crew who operated the missile and determine how high up the chain of command the order originated.

“The Russian Federation didn’t help us in providing us the information we brought out into the open today,” Westerbeke said. “They didn’t give us this information, although a Buk from their military forces was used.”

Russia repeated on Thursday that it had nothing to do with the incident.

“Not a single air defence missile launcher of the Russian Armed Forces has ever crossed the Russian-Ukrainian border,” Russia’s TASS news agency quoted the Defence Ministry as saying in a statement.

Prosecutors showed photos and videos of a truck convoy carrying the system as it crossed the border from Russia to Ukraine. It crossed back several days later with one missile missing. The vehicles had serial numbers and other markings that were unique to the 53rd brigade, an anti-aircraft unit based in the western Russian city of Kursk, they said.

In the interim update on their investigation, prosecutors said they had trimmed their list of possible suspects from more than a hundred to several dozen.

Westerbeke said investigators were not yet ready to identify individual suspects publicly or to issue indictments, but that when they do he expects cooperation, or a firm international political response.

Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte cut short a trip to India to return in time for a cabinet meeting on Friday to discuss the latest findings in the inquiry.

The MH17 Disaster Foundation representing families of the victims demanded that the Dutch government take legal action to hold the Russian state accountable.

“It must go beyond legal exploration after this,” board member Piet Ploeg was quoted by the NOS broadcaster as saying.

A Joint Investigation Team, drawn from Australia, Belgium, Malaysia, the Netherlands and Ukraine, is gathering evidence for a criminal prosecution in the downing of the plane.

Ukrainian Army General Vasyl Hrytsak, a member of the investigation team, told Reuters the next crucial step would be to pinpoint who issued the orders to move the missile system.

The Dutch Safety Board concluded in an October 2015 report that the Boeing 777 was struck by a Russian-made Buk missile.</s>The Netherlands and Australia are holding Russia "accountable" for the 2014 downing of flight MH17 over eastern Ukraine, Dutch officials said Friday, in a move likely to lead to legal action.

The two countries "hold Russia responsible for its part in the downing" of the Malaysia Airlines flight, the Dutch government said in a statement.

The two countries may now move towards submitting the complex dossier to an international judge or organisation, it added.

The move came a day after investigators concluded that the Russian-made BUK missile which smashed into the plane in mid-air on July 17, 2014 came from a Russian military brigade in Kursk.

All 298 people on board the flight en route from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur were killed. Most were Dutch, but there were 17 nationalities including Australian on board.

"The downing of flight MH17 caused unimaginable suffering," said Dutch Foreign Minister Stef Blok a day after the latest findings from the Dutch-led Joint Investigation Team (JIT) probing the disaster.

"On the basis of the JIT's conclusions, the Netherlands and Australia are now convinced that Russia is responsible for the deployment of the BUK installation that was used to down MH17," he added.

"The government is now taking the next step by formally holding Russia accountable."

The government said state liability was invoked in cases where nations violate international law, but warned it was a "complex legal process and there are several ways to do this."

"This is the legal avenue that the Netherlands and Australia have now chosen to pursue," the statement added.

Moscow has rejected Thursday's accusations, saying no such weapon had ever crossed the Russian-Ukrainian border.

The Russian foreign ministry denounced what it called an attempt to "discredit Russia in the eyes of the international community".

But investigators, who painstaking recreated the BUK missile system's route from Kursk across the border into rebel-held eastern Ukraine, said they stood by their findings.

The Joint Investigation Team "has come to the conclusion that the BUK-TELAR that shot down MH17 came from 53rd Anti-aircraft Missile Brigade based in Kursk in Russia," top Dutch investigator Wilbert Paulissen said.

"The 53rd Brigade forms part of the Russian armed forces," he told reporters Thursday.

Investigation officials have not yet said who actually fired the missile after it arrived in rebel-held territory in eastern Ukraine, stressing that the investigation continues.</s>"Not a single anti-aircraft missile system from the Russian Federation has ever crossed the Russia-Ukraine border," the defence ministry said

Moscow on Friday rejected an international investigation that found a Russian missile downed flight MH17 over Ukraine in 2014, saying no such weapon had ever crossed the Russian-Ukrainian border and blaming Kiev for the tragedy.

"Not a single anti-aircraft missile system from the Russian Federation has ever crossed the Russia-Ukraine border," the defence ministry said in a statement carried by local news agencies.

The ministry accused Ukraine of being behind the disaster in which 298 people died, saying it had presented evidence that "showed the involvement of Ukrainian units using (Soviet-designed) BUK missiles".

Earlier in the day, a Netherlands-led joint investigation team said -- for the first time -- that the missile which brought down the plane over eastern Ukraine came from a Russian military brigade.

The group "has come to the conclusion that the BUK-TELAR that shot down MH17 came from 53rd Anti-aircraft Missile Brigade based in Kursk in Russia," top Dutch investigator Wilbert Paulissen said.

He told reporters gathered for a press conference that "the 53rd Brigade forms part of the Russian armed forces." The Malaysian Airlines Boeing 777 was blown out of the sky over conflict-torn eastern Ukraine on July 17, 2014, while en route from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur.

The Russian foreign ministry later said, "it is clear that these gratuitous accusations are an attempt to discredit our nation in the eyes of the international community." It said investigators had presented "no evidence" to back up their allegation except for a video which it said was based on fabricated information from a blogging site.

Ukraine and its Western allies have long accused Russia of funnelling troops and arms across the border to fan the flames of the conflict.

Moscow has denied the allegations despite overwhelming evidence that it has been involved in the fighting and its explicit political support for the rebels.

Investigators had previously concluded that the plane was hit by a Russian-made BUK missile system brought in from Russia and fired from territory in Ukraine held by Moscow-backed rebels. But they had stopped short of directly saying who pulled the trigger.

Now the team has painstakingly recreated the route taken by the missile convoy from Kursk towards the border into Ukraine using videos and photos.

Catch up on all the latest Crime, National, International and Hatke news here. Also, download the new mid-day Android and iOS apps to get latest updates</s>Moscow on Thursday rejected an international investigation that found a Russian missile downed flight MH17 over Ukraine in 2014, saying no such weapon had ever crossed the Russian-Ukrainian border and blaming Kiev for the tragedy.

“Not a single anti-aircraft missile system from the Russian Federation has ever crossed the Russia-Ukraine border,” the defence ministry said in a statement carried by local news agencies.

The ministry accused Ukraine of being behind the disaster in which 298 people died, saying it had presented evidence that “showed the involvement of Ukrainian units using (Soviet-designed) BUK missiles”.

Earlier in the day, a Netherlands-led joint investigation team said — for the first time — that the missile which brought down the plane over eastern Ukraine came from a Russian military brigade.

The group “has come to the conclusion that the BUK-TELAR that shot down MH17 came from 53rd Anti-aircraft Missile Brigade based in Kursk in Russia,” top Dutch investigator Wilbert Paulissen said.

He told reporters gathered for a press conference that “the 53rd Brigade forms part of the Russian armed forces.”

The Malaysian Airlines Boeing 777 was blown out of the sky over conflict-torn eastern Ukraine on July 17, 2014, while en route from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur.

Ukraine and its Western allies have long accused Russia of funnelling troops and arms across the border to fan the flames of the conflict.

Moscow has denied the allegations despite overwhelming evidence that it has been involved in the fighting and its explicit political support for the rebels.

Investigators had previously concluded that the plane was hit by a Russian-made BUK missile system brought in from Russia and fired from territory in Ukraine held by Moscow-backed rebels. But they had stopped short of directly saying who pulled the trigger.

Now the team has painstakingly recreated the route taken by the missile convoy from Kursk towards the border into Ukraine using videos and photos.</s>The Netherlands and Australia Friday accused Moscow of being behind the 2014 shooting down of flight MH17 over war-torn eastern Ukraine with the loss of 298 lives, in a move which may trigger legal action. The move came a day after international investigators concluded that the Russian-made BUK missile which smashed into the Boeing 777 in mid-air on July 17, 2014 came from a Russian military brigade in Kursk.

The two countries “hold Russia responsible for its part in the downing” of the Malaysia Airlines flight, the Dutch government said in a statement on Friday.

They may now move towards submitting the complex dossier to an international judge or organisation, it added.

All 298 people on board the flight en route from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur were killed when the missile slammed into the plane as it flew over territory held by pro-Russian rebels.

Most of the dead were Dutch, but there were 17 nationalities including Australians on board.

“The downing of flight MH17 caused unimaginable suffering,” said Dutch Foreign Minister Stef Blok a day after the latest findings from the Dutch-led Joint Investigation Team (JIT).

“On the basis of the JIT’s conclusions, the Netherlands and Australia are now convinced that Russia is responsible for the deployment of the BUK installation that was used to down MH17,” he added.

“The government is now taking the next step by formally holding Russia accountable.”

State liability was invoked in cases where nations violate international law, the government said, warning it was a “complex legal process”.

“This is the legal avenue that the Netherlands and Australia have now chosen to pursue,” the statement added.

Moscow has vehemently rejected Thursday’s accusations, saying no such weapon ever crossed the Russian-Ukrainian border. It has long placed the blame for the disaster on Kiev.

The Russian foreign ministry denounced what it called an attempt to “discredit Russia in the eyes of the international community”.

But investigators, who painstaking recreated the BUK missile system’s route from Kursk across the border into rebel-held eastern Ukraine using videos and photos, stood by their findings.

The team “has come to the conclusion that the BUK-TELAR that shot down MH17 came from 53rd Anti-aircraft Missile Brigade based in Kursk in Russia,” top Dutch investigator Wilbert Paulissen said.

“The 53rd Brigade forms part of the Russian armed forces,” he told reporters Thursday.
A Dutch official from the international Joint Investigation Team tells reporters the Russian Armed Forces were responsible for the shootdown. The Russian Defence Ministry denies its units were involved.