FOX NEWS
Investigators said Wednesday there are “strong indications” that Russian President Vladimir Putin approved the supply of anti-aircraft missiles that were used to shoot down MH17. (APTN)
An international team of investigators announced Wednesday that there are “strong indications” Russian President Vladimir Putin was the person who approved the supply of anti-aircraft weaponry to Ukrainian separatists who shot down Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 in 2014, killing all 298 onboard.
The Joint Investigation Team, made up of experts from the Netherlands, Australia, Malaysia, Belgium and Ukraine, has been examining the crew of the missile system and those who ordered its deployment in Ukraine.
MH17 was traveling from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur in Malaysia on July 17, 2014, when it was shot out of the sky.
Dutch prosecutors said in their summary of investigation findings Wednesday that “there are strong indications that the Russian president decided on supplying” a Buk missile system to Ukrainian separatists. A Buk system from the Russian military’s 53rd Anti-Aircraft Missile Brigade, based in the city of Kursk, was used to bring down MH17.
But prosecutor Digna van Boetzelaer said that without Russian cooperation in the probe, “the investigation has now reached its limit. All leads have been exhausted.”
The announcement comes nearly three months after a Dutch court convicted two Russians and a Ukrainian rebel for their roles in shooting down the plane. One Russian was acquitted by the court.
Russian President Vladimir Putin, shown left during a meeting in Moscow on Tuesday, is accused of signing off on the supply of weaponry that was used to shoot MH17 out of the sky in July 2014. (AP/Mikhail Klimentyev/Sputnik/Kremlin Pool Photo/Dmitry Lovetsky)
None of the suspects appeared for the trial and it was unclear if the three who were found guilty of multiple murders will ever serve their sentences.
