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The Netherlands and Australia have officially accused Russia of missile strike on the Boeing of Malaysia Airlines, which killed 298 people 4 years ago. The international investigation received all the evidence that the plane was shot down by a Buk missile launcher brought to Ukraine from near Kursk.
Russia supplied the militants with the Buk anti-aircraft missile system, Russia urgently removed it after the crash of Boeing MH17, and now Moscow is obstructing the international investigation and does not provide information to investigators - prosecutors and police from Holland, Malaysia, Australia and other countries. This was officially announced by the governments of Australia and the Netherlands.
“We will inform the UN Security Council about the findings of the investigative team and the decision to recognize Russia as legally responsible. We see that our allies support these steps,” said Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte.
The countries of the European Union, the United States of America and the NATO bloc also officially called on Russia to “admit its responsibility” for the downing of the Boeing, stop the disinformation campaign and cooperate with the investigation.
“We have said from the beginning that we will bring the perpetrators of this heinous crime to justice, and for nearly four years we have been part of the investigation team and will continue to do so to bring justice to the victims and their families who are still grieving the loss of their loved ones.” – added Australian Foreign Minister Julie Bishop.
As stated in The Hague, the investigation may continue by transferring the case to an international court for sentencing.
“Thanks to the outstanding work of the Joint Investigation Team, there is now irrefutable evidence direct connection between the Buk anti-aircraft missile system that shot down flight MH17 and Russian army,” said Dutch Foreign Minister Stef Blok.
Yesterday the Joint Investigation Team (JIT) released the latest findings from its criminal investigation. The Buk air defense system, from which a Malaysian Boeing was shot down near occupied Torez, arrived from near Kursk - from the 53rd Anti-Aircraft Missile Brigade as part of a column of Russian troops.
Like any vehicle, the Buk anti-aircraft gun had specific distinctive features: damage, transport markings, a special caterpillar roller, remnants of a painted over number. All this was captured in photos and videos of witnesses of the transportation - first in Russia, then in Ukraine.
Investigators also have fragments of the rocket itself with serial numbers.
New results of a parallel investigation were published today by the expert journalistic group Bellingcat. They identified a militant with the call sign “Orion” who was involved in the delivery of the Buk from Russia to the occupied part of Ukraine and back.
“This man was a high-ranking officer at that time in the so-called Lugansk people's republic. He represented military intelligence Russia – GRU,” says Bellingcat investigator Moritz.
Oleg Vladimirovich Ivannikov, as it turned out, does not just serve in the Main Directorate of the General Staff of the Russian Armed Forces. 10 years ago he was the self-proclaimed defense minister South Ossetia. And he directed the supply of weapons to the Lugansk People's Republic. Here is his voice on an intercepted telephone conversation:
“They are taking revenge for the planes today, but there are still a couple of days left there. We already have a Buk, fuck it, we’ll shoot it down.”
The Kremlin denies all accusations. The missile with this number, they say, was written off and disposed of long ago, our military and weapons are not in Ukraine, and in general, Kyiv is to blame for the disaster.
“In order for us to recognize what is stated there, we must take full part in the investigation,” said Vladimir Putin.
Russian authorities are the main accused in the murder of passengers and crew of the plane. Why is the Putin-Medvedev government not invited to participate in the investigation? For example, so that Russian intelligence services do not create false evidence, intimidate or kill witnesses.
International investigators are asking for help in collecting information from anyone who knows the circumstances of the actions of the Russian military.
“The Joint Investigation Team will maintain the utmost confidentiality of all information received and all persons providing it,” said Australian Federal Police Chief Jennifer Hurst.
Investigators said that all evidence and charges against specific individuals will be made public when the investigation is completed. This will happen in the courtroom.
Yaroslav Steshyk; photo - Francois Lenoir/Reuters/Forum
Four years after the crash of Malaysia Airlines Boeing MH17, which fell in the Donetsk region on July 17, 2014, investigators for the first time released information about the specific origin of the missile that shot down the plane.
rocket launcher The Buk that shot down the plane belonged to the 53rd Anti-Aircraft Missile Brigade, based near Kursk. Representatives of the Joint Investigation Team (JIT) investigating the crash spoke about this at a press conference in Utrecht, Holland on Thursday, May 24.
New investigation details
As the head of the investigation department of the Dutch police, Wilbert Paulissen, said at a press conference, JIT carefully studied all available photos and videos of the Buk anti-aircraft missile system, from which, according to the investigation, the missile that hit the Malaysian Boeing was launched. “We were able to establish that this air defense system has unique characteristics,” said Paulissen. “Based on these characteristics, JIT was able to identify the distinctive features of this Buk.”
After analyzing numerous photographs and videos posted on social networks, investigators reconstructed the route of movement of the Buk in the period from June 23 to June 25, 2014, as part of a convoy of military equipment from a military unit near Kursk to the city of Millerovo in the Rostov region. According to JIT, the convoy left the territory of the military unit on June 23, 2014. "It was a large convoy of almost 50 different vehicles, including six Buks," JIT said in a presentation at a press conference.
Some videos “clearly show that the huge machinery is obstructing traffic on the road and attracting attention,” the presentation says. “This explains the fact that so many pictures of the convoy have appeared on social networks.”
How JIT found the Buk that shot down the Boeing
The photographs and videos analyzed by investigators show license plates and other distinctive features of military vehicles in the convoy, including transport markings on the body. One of the Bukovs traveling in the convoy also appeared in photographs taken on July 17 and 18 already on the territory of Ukraine. Investigators recognized him by a set of unique distinctive features, making up the transport marking of the air defense system.
Having compared these characteristics with the characteristics of other Buk missiles of the same type in service with the Russian and Ukrainian armies, investigators “came to the conclusion that the Buk air defense system from which the Boeing MH17 was shot down belongs to the 53rd Anti-Aircraft Missile Brigade, stationed near Kursk," Paulissen explained. He also said that in 2014, the 53rd brigade consisted of three active battalions. Several hundred people served in them, including personnel and support units.
What is known about the 53rd Brigade
Although this is the first official statement from investigators about the origin of the missile that shot down flight MH17 from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur, the data itself is not new. Back in November 2014, the expert-journalistic group Bellingcat published the results of its own investigation, according to which Boeing MH17 was shot down by a Buk, which was in service with the 53rd Anti-Aircraft Missile Brigade near Kursk.
Bellingcat experts later published another report, which provided details about the 53rd Brigade. According to their information, in 2014, each of its three battalions included a full Buk complex. The convoy spotted on June 23-25 carried Buk missile launchers, another military equipment, as well as soldiers and officers of the second battalion. The column was heading to the Millerovo military airfield. Subsequently, the equipment moving in the convoy was transported to countryside to the border with Ukraine.
Context
As Bellingcat founder Eliot Higgins explained in an interview with DW, JIT investigators took longer to identify the origin of the Buk that shot down MH17. This is due to the fact that they must carefully check the information collected, especially since Russia does not recognize any evidence. “Investigators must be 100 percent sure that everything they present is completely correct, because if they make a mistake, they will Russian authorities they will begin to put pressure on them,” Higgins is sure.
The conclusions of JIT and Bellingcat coincided
Commenting on the results of the investigation released on Thursday, Higgins noted that the involvement of the 53rd battalion in the crash of the Malaysian Boeing is quite obvious. When comparing Buks and JITs, Bellingcat experts paid attention to the same features - such as damage to the hull, traces of paint, location of numbers and markings. “It is very unlikely that there was another identical air defense system in that area with the same distinctive features,” the Bellingcat founder concluded.
JIT representatives, meanwhile, acknowledged the validity of Bellingcat's previous findings and explained why it took them so long to release information about the 53rd Brigade's Buk. "JIT findings must be based on legally compelling facts that can be presented in court. Required a lot of time to collect and verify these facts,” Paulissen emphasized.
JIT called on the public to help in the investigation
JIT representatives also noted that the investigation into the crash had entered the “final phase” and asked the public to provide information known to them about the 53rd Brigade, the deployment of the Buk that shot down Malaysian Boeing, and persons who were directly or indirectly related to the plane crash.
“We are convinced that many people know this information, these could be soldiers of the 53rd brigade, their friends and relatives,” Paulissen said, promising that all information about the informants will remain confidential.
According to Higgins, even one witness can play important role during the investigation. "I think the JIT group does this not out of desperation, but because they want to achieve as much as possible best results. After all, it is competing with Russia, and Russia will try every possible tactic to go on the attack,” he suggested.
See also:
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MH17 was shot down by a Russian Buk
The investigation showed that the Boeing was shot down by a 9M38 missile, used in the Buk anti-aircraft missile system. The installation was delivered from Russia and launched from territory then controlled by the separatists. Fragments of a Buk series missile were discovered both during the autopsy of the bodies of the crew members and in one of the window openings of the aircraft cabin.
What we have learned about the MH17 disaster
"Buka" route
The international investigative team managed to establish most the route along which the Buk air defense system followed to the territory of Ukraine, as well as the route of its movement in the opposite direction. According to investigators, the complex was moved from the territory of Russia to the territory of Eastern Ukraine and was later taken back to the Russian Federation on a white Volvo tractor.
What we have learned about the MH17 disaster
Rocket launch site
The final destination of the Buk air defense system was fields near the village of Pervomaisky. This information is confirmed by the testimony of numerous witnesses who saw a column of smoke, a Buk launcher in the area of the village, as well as the missile itself after its launch. After the launch of the Buk missile, it left the area under its own power. After some time, he was loaded onto a tractor again and taken to the Russian border.
What we have learned about the MH17 disaster
Alternative versions
The investigation ruled out versions of an emergency situation and a terrorist attack on board the plane. The version that the airliner was shot down in the air by a military aircraft was also found unfounded. Based on radar data, it was established that at the time of the disaster aircraft, capable of shooting down flight MH17, were not nearby.
What we have learned about the MH17 disaster
Persons responsible
On this moment An international investigation team has identified about 100 people involved in the disaster. Two of the suspects are mentioned on the Dutch police website as "person of interest 1, pseudonym: Orion (call sign), name: Andrey Ivanovich" and "person of interest 2, pseudonym: Dolphin (call sign), name: Nikolai Fedorovich." Their names are still unknown to the investigation.
What we have learned about the MH17 disaster
The investigation is looking for witnesses
Fragments of recordings have been published on the website telephone conversations Dolphin and Oreon. "Well, does Moscow confirm the convoy that is coming? I say, confirmation of the convoy that is going towards the airport... Moscow confirms... do they see it? This column uh-uh these... dill?" asks one of the defendants. The investigation is asking for help from everyone who has information about these people.
What we have learned about the MH17 disaster
Bellingcat investigation
The MSG's findings actually coincide with the results of an investigation by Bellingcat, an expert journalistic organization engaged in independent investigations into open sources. On July 15, Bellingcat published a report that also claims that the cause of the death of the Boeing was a missile from a Buk launcher delivered to Ukraine from Russia.
What we have learned about the MH17 disaster
Russian version
In October 2015, the manufacturer of the Buk complex, the Russian concern Almaz-Antey, published the results of its own investigation into the disaster. According to the concern, the Boeing was shot down from an area near the villages of Zaroshchenskoye and Velyka Shishovka, which are under the control of the Ukrainian armed forces. Bellingcat experts, in turn, claim that there were no Ukrainian Buk missile launchers at the indicated points.
Investigators and detectives have identified 100 people who may have been involved in the disaster.
The Dutch public prosecutor's office, following the fall in Ukraine, published a summary of the results of the investigation, which is being conducted by an international team of prosecutors and detectives. We publish full text document and video reconstructions related to the crash of flight MH17.
“International investigation team: flight MH-17 was shot down by a Buk air defense missile fired from the area of the Pervomaisky village.
Members of the International Investigation Team investigating the causes of the crash of flight MH-17, which occurred on July 17, 2014, are convinced that they have irrefutable evidence that the airliner was shot down by a 9M38 series anti-aircraft missile from the Buk anti-aircraft missile system. In addition, the investigation has evidence that allows it to be asserted that the missile launch site was a field in the area of the Pervomaisky village, which at that time was under the control of pro-Russian militants.
This was announced today during a presentation for relatives of those killed in the disaster. The states that are members of the International Investigation Team (Australia, Belgium, Malaysia, the Netherlands and Ukraine) are conducting a joint criminal investigation into the causes of the airliner crash.
Today, the investigation presented interim conclusions, including regarding the weapon system from which the plane was shot down and the location of the missile launch. The investigation into those responsible for the disaster continues.
Versions
Conducted expert research, witness testimony, data taken from networks mobile communications, satellite images, radar data, expert opinions and other evidence available to the investigation indicate that the plane was shot down from the ground by an anti-aircraft system.
It is noted that the International Investigation Team has also studied other versions of the causes of the disaster. In particular, the investigation ruled out versions of an emergency situation and a terrorist attack on board the plane. On the contrary, the results of expert studies confirm the version that the plane was subjected to destructive influence from the outside. The version that the airliner was shot down in the air by a military aircraft was worked out, but based on radar data, witness testimony and expert research, it was found unfounded.
The international investigation team has sufficient radar data (from both Ukraine and Russia) that together provides a complete picture of the airspace over eastern Ukraine. Based on these data, it was established that at the time of the disaster there were no aircraft nearby that could shoot down flight MH-17.
Last week Russian Federation announced the discovery of “new” primary radar data, on the basis of which it also concludes that there are other aircraft There weren’t any that could have brought him down.
Means of destruction
The investigation showed that flight MH17 was shot down by a 9M38 missile used in the Buk anti-aircraft missile system. The investigation compared fragments of the alleged weapon found at the crash site with comparison material.
For this purpose, disassembly was carried out various types missiles of the 9M38 series of the Buk air defense system and carried out comparative analysis this support material with metal fragments found at the disaster site.
Video presentation: Weapons:
Forensic examination
The task of the group of experts was to establish a connection between the discovered fragments and the circumstances of the downing of flight MH17. It was necessary to prove that these fragments were not located on the territory in question before the disaster and were not placed there by third parties subsequently. The crash site was not fenced off for the purpose of examination by forensic experts. Obviously, access to the crash site was free.
Two examples confirming the connection:
During the autopsy of the bodies of the flight crew members, several fragments of the warhead of the 9M38 series missile of the Buk air defense system were discovered. Traces of glass were found on the surface of one of the fragments characteristic type, used in the cockpit structures of the Boeing 777 aircraft. It was determined that this fragment entered the aircraft from the outside through the cockpit window.
A metal fragment was found in one of the window openings, identified as a fragment of a 9M38 series missile from the Buk air defense system. This fragment was removed from the opening in a deformed form, which indicates that it fell into the window as a result of a high-power explosion.
Video presentation: Forensic examination:
Transportation of air defense systems
The international investigative team was able to establish most of the route followed by the Buk air defense system to the territory of Ukraine, as well as its route in the opposite direction. This became possible thanks to the processing of information obtained from recordings of intercepted telephone conversations, witness statements, photographs and video materials posted on in social networks, as well as video material that has not yet been made public and was received from a witness. The air defense missile system moved from Russian territory to the territory of Eastern Ukraine and was later transported on a white Volvo tractor and a trawl. Given vehicle accompanied by several cars and people in military uniform.
Rocket launch area
The final destination of the Buk air defense system was farmland near the village. Pervomaisky. This fact is confirmed by the information provided big amount witnesses who saw and managed to record the condensation trail of a missile launched using the Buk air defense system, as well as its movement in the air. Another group of witnesses could establish a connection between the condensation trail and the Buk SAM system, which they saw earlier on July 17, 2014.
The investigative team worked with witnesses who saw a column of smoke and a Buk air defense system at the site of the missile launch in the area of the village. Pervomaisky, as well as the rocket itself, after its launch.
Journalists interviewed witnesses who observed the rocket launch from a short distance from the launch site. These witnesses claim that they heard a very intense and high-pitched whistling sound.
After the missile was launched using the Buk air defense system, the Buk air defense system left the missile launch site under its own power. After some time, she was again loaded onto a Volvo tractor and taken to the Russian border. At night the convoy crossed the border in the direction of the Russian Federation.
Persons responsible
Having determined what happened, the investigation is now focusing on identifying those responsible. It will take a lot of time to answer this question. At the moment, the International Investigation Team has identified about 100 people who may be involved in the downing of MH17 or the transportation of the BUK self-propelled gun system. The International Investigation Team obtained information about these people from various sources, such as intercepted telephone conversations and witness statements.
In addition, an investigation is underway into the command structure. Who gave the order to bring the BUK self-propelled gun system to Ukraine and who ordered the downing of flight MH17? Did the BUK crew make the decision on their own, or did they follow the orders of their command? These questions are important for the classification of crimes committed by suspected perpetrators.
The international investigation team wishes to emphasize that it continues to search Additional information and evidence, including information about witnesses who were directly related to the crime committed. Ukrainian legislation provides for a shorter prison term and, under certain circumstances, exemption from criminal liability for those who cooperate with the investigation.
In addition, the website www.jitmh17.com includes a number of intercepted telephone conversations. An international investigative team is requesting information about certain people who took part in these conversations. People who can identify these voices are asked to contact the International Investigation Team.
The International Investigation Team will be actively involved in the investigation in the near future and, for these reasons, the agreement with the International Investigation Team was extended yesterday until January 1, 2018.”
Video reconstruction of the Buk:
Military expert Igor Tikhonov explained to Pravda.Ru why Russia will not negotiate with the West on compensation for those killed in the crash Boeing aircraft flight MH17 in the sky over Donbass.
"How did Boeing die?" Film by Andrey Karaulov
On May 25, the Netherlands and Australia held the Russian Federation responsible for the crash of flight MH17. The final report of the international investigation team has been published, in which Russia is called on to “enter into dialogue to reach a solution to compensate for the enormous suffering and damage caused by the crash of MH17.” The next step could be to transfer the case to an international court or another organization, the authors of the government statement threaten.
Investigators found it difficult to answer when and to which court the results of the investigation would be transferred. The main conclusion is that Boeing was shot down by a Buk air defense system, which belonged to the 53rd anti-aircraft missile brigade of the Russian Armed Forces from Kursk.
Australian Foreign Minister Julie Bishop announced joint sanctions against the Russian Federation from Australia, Belgium, Malaysia and the Netherlands. The conclusions of the Netherlands and Australia were supported by the European Union and NATO. British Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson wrote on Twitter that the incident was “an example of how the Kremlin neglects innocent lives.” "The Kremlin believes it can act with impunity... Russian government“Now we must answer for our actions,” said the head of British diplomacy.
As he told Pravda Ru military expert, reserve colonel Igor Tikhonov, The West is trying to develop this topic without evidence in order to “stick us in the mud again.” No one is trying to show the facts, the Pravda.Ru expert noted. And they are such that the Buk’s firing with a range of up to ten kilometers is ensured by an entire weapons complex. This is a ground-based target detection station that points, guides the missile, tracks the target and gives the command to launch one of the installations.
“If we allegedly did this from Kursk, then from Kursk to Donetsk there are three hundred kilometers and the firing range of the Buk does not allow hitting such a target... And if we allegedly brought the launcher to the territory of Ukraine, then this vehicle cannot fire on its own, it has there must be a guidance station, the installation itself cannot aim independently according to its performance characteristics,” Igor Tikhonov told Pravda.Ru.
According to the Pravda.Ru expert, Russia will not conduct any dialogue on compensation because it will not accept the results of the investigation. “They will begin by any means through the European courts to impose sanctions on the accounts of our enterprises abroad and try to take this money according to the decision of the Hague court. And what kind of court this is, the case of the Yugoslav leader Milosevic showed. He died in prison, and then the Hague court said: sorry , but it turns out he’s not to blame,” Igor Tikhonov noted in an interview with Pravda.Ru.
“I don’t believe that the Americans, with their powerful aerospace forces, did not have satellites hovering over Ukraine at that time. Therefore, I believe that let them open their cards, meet and look with us calmly,” Igor Tikhonov summed up in a conversation with correspondent for Pravda.Ru.
Earlier, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, during a conversation with his Dutch counterpart Stef Blok, said that he had not heard from him any reliable facts that could prove Russia’s involvement in the crash of the Malaysian Boeing MH17.
The plane crash occurred in July 2014. The plane was shot down over the Donbass, killing 298 people.
According to Pravda.Ru, the current resolution regarding Russia’s guilt from this commission is far from the first. Already in 2016, experts had serious doubts about the quality of the work of the commission itself and the true goals of its work. In particular, President of the "Partner" Foundation civil aviation", Honored Pilot of the USSR Oleg Smirnov then stated: “This version is not the first, but the next in an absolutely incompetent and unprofessional investigation of this most serious tragedy. What is happening except information war you can't name it. All research is carried out in gross violation of international aviation regulations."
Carried out flight MH17, released the first preliminary results your work. As the head of the central department of criminal investigations of the Dutch national police, Wilbert Paulissen, said at a press conference, the passenger plane was shot down from the area settlement Pervomayskoe, which is located south of the village of Snezhnoye.
According to the investigation, the Boeing was shot down by a Buk anti-aircraft missile system, which was located in a farm field. The rocket launch site, the Dutch investigator specified, was at that time under the control of the militia. He outlined the launch area as an area of approximately 500 by 700 meters. According to Wilbert Paulissen, this is confirmed by US data, which estimated that the launch site was 6 kilometers south of Snezhnoye.
It is worth noting that these data were not confirmed by the results of experiments previously conducted by the Almaz-Antey concern, which produces the Buk air defense system. They showed that the Boeing was shot down from the area of the village of Zaroshchenskoye, located about 20 kilometers west of Snezhnoye. It is reliably known that on the day of the plane crash, the village of Zaroshchenskoye was controlled by the Armed Forces of Ukraine.
Last Monday, the head of the radio technical troops of the Aerospace Forces (VKS) of Russia, Andrei Koban, at a briefing, said that the analysis of primary radar data refutes the possibility of launching an anti-aircraft missile from the area east of the crash site (this is where the village of Snezhnoye is located). According to him, if the Malaysian Boeing had been shot down by a missile from any point located east of the crash site, it would definitely have been detected by the Russian primary radar.
Data from an international investigation in the self-proclaimed Donetsk People's Republic (DPR) have also already been refuted. “We didn’t have this kind of air defense systems (Buk air defense system - RG note) in our arsenal, neither the systems themselves nor specialists. Therefore, we could not shoot down the plane,” the deputy commander of the Donetsk operational command told Interfax "Eduard Basurin.
The DPR representative also recalled that after the Boeing was shot down, a statement from the American side appeared that they had satellite imagery confirming that it was shot down from militia-controlled territory. “However, 2 years passed, and no one saw these pictures. After we asked Ukraine to provide materials from their radars, what planes were in the air at that time, no one provided anything either. But at the same time, they immediately "They began to declare that they shot down a Buk system from the territory controlled by the militia. I believe that this is deliberately leading the investigation into a dead end, because this is the second time the international commission has made the wrong conclusions," Basurin said.
The DPR representative also recalled that the Buk complexes have remained in Ukraine's arsenal since Soviet times, and the Ukrainian side does not disclose information about where they were at the time of the plane crash.
Let us remind you that on September 26, 2016, the official representative of the Russian Ministry of Defense, Major General Igor Konashenkov, that Russia provided Holland with all information regarding the crash of the Malaysian plane. “This is objective data, we are confident that this information will help the joint investigation team establish the true causes of the crash of a Malaysian plane in Ukrainian skies,” the military man said at a press conference in Moscow.
In addition, he noted that due to Ukraine’s position, which does not provide data, “the investigation is following the wrong trail - from conflicting data on the destructive elements to an incorrect determination of the type of missile and, as a consequence, the location of its launch.” “Despite requests from both Russia and other countries, as well as relatives of the victims, Kiev has not released information about the location of its crews of the Buk air defense system on the day of the disaster, negotiations between air traffic controllers, primarily military ones, as well as data on activity in the day of the disaster of its radars, data on the operation of Ukrainian air defense systems and testimony of witnesses,” General Konashenkov said.
On Monday, the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation and the developers of the Utes-T route radar complex - the Lianozovsky research and production association electromechanical plant"(LEMZ) - presented a detailed recording from Russian means of objective airspace control on the day of the Boeing tragedy over Donbass. According to it, the radar located to the east of the crash site did not detect any third-party air objects in the vicinity of the plane except two civilian airliners. "Near the Malaysian plane The Ust-Donetsk radar did not observe any third-party objects that could cause its destruction,” Deputy Chief Designer of LEMZ Viktor Meshcheryakov said at a briefing in Moscow.
The Malaysia Airlines Boeing 777, en route from Amsterdam (Netherlands) to Kuala Lumpur (Malaysia), crashed in Ukrainian airspace on July 17, 2014. There were 298 people on board the plane, all of them died. Of these, 192 were Dutch citizens (one also had US citizenship), 44 Malaysian citizens, including 15 crew members, 27 Australian citizens, 12 Indonesian citizens, 10 British citizens (one also had South African citizenship), four Germans and four Belgians, three Filipinos, one Canadian and one New Zealand.
IN international group, leading the investigation, includes experts from Australia, Belgium, Malaysia and Ukraine. The group is led by a representative from the Netherlands. On October 13, 2015, the commission of the Dutch Safety Council, which was investigating the causes of the plane crash, reported that the plane was shot down by a surface-to-air missile fired from a Buk air defense system.
