The Hague [Netherlands], Sept. 29 : The Joint Investigation Team's (JIT) report on the Malaysian flight MH17 has stated that the Buk missile, that downed the flight, was brought from Russia and fired from a region in eastern Ukraine controlled by the pro-Russian rebels.
According to the report released on Wednesday by the Netherlands Public Prosecutor's Office, the weapon was fired from a field in the Ukrainian village Pervomaysk, which at the time of the disaster was in the hands of pro-Russian rebels, reports Xinhua.
The launcher was then brought back to Russia, according to the JIT's initial probe. In a response to the report, Russia's Foreign Ministry said it was "disappointed" by the findings and the investigation was biased and politically motivated.
The investigation team said they based their findings on information collected from radar images, thousands of pieces of wreckage, photos, videos, tapped phone calls and testimonials from people who have seen the Buk missile being driven.
The report added that this conclusion was supported by material which the investigation team recently obtained from the United States and the European Space Agency.
The JIT also announced they will continue its investigation to get a better picture of the chain of command with regard to the use of the weapon.
In the JIT, the Netherlands Public Prosecutor's Office and the Dutch National Police work together with police and judicial authorities of Australia, Belgium, Malaysia, and Ukraine.
MH17 crashed in eastern Ukraine on July 17, 2014 while flying from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur. All 298 people on board died, most of them Dutch citizens. Western investigators and Kiev have been claiming that pro-independence insurgents in eastern Ukraine shot down the aircraft, while Moscow has been denying the allegations and retorting the plane was shot by a missile from the territory controlled by Ukrainian government troops.
Source: ANI
