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Russia dismisses report on MH17
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RUSSIA yesterday dismissed a report from international prosecutors which concluded that Malaysia Airlines Flight MH17 had been downed by a Russian-made missile launched from a Ukrainian village held by pro-Russian rebels in 2014.
In a strongly worded statement, Russian foreign ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said the Dutch-led investigation’s findings were biased and politically motivated.
“To arbitrarily designate a guilty party and dream up the desired results has become the norm for our Western colleagues,” she said.
“The investigation to this day continues to ignore incontestable evidence from the Russian side despite the fact that Russia is practically the only one sending reliable information to them.”
Russia has long denied any involvement in the episode.
Zakharova complained that the Russian government had been prevented from playing a full role in the investigation and alleged that the Ukrainian government had been able to influence the inquiry using fabricated evidence.
She said she hoped new radar data presented by the Russian military would prompt prosecutors to revise their findings.
Russian missile-maker Almaz-Antey also said it rejected the findings which ruled the airliner was hit by one of its weapons, RIA news agency reported.
Almaz-Antey said the BUK missile which downed flight MH17 in 2014 was fired from territory held by the Ukrainian army and the prosecutors’ findings were not supported by technical evidence.
The Dutch-led investigation which said the missile had been transported from Russia, also said that more than 100 people were under investigation for the 2014 disaster.
The investigators said it was fired from a field in a part of eastern Ukraine under the control of pro-Russia separatists.
But the investigation did not directly accuse Moscow of supplying the BUK missile and its transporter system.
The Malaysia Airlines passenger jet was blown from the skies in July 2014 during a flight from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur, killing all 298 people on board, including 196 Dutch citizens.
“Based on the criminal investigation, we have concluded that flight MH17... was downed by a BUK missile of the series 9M38, that came from the territory of the Russian Federation,” said Wilbert Paulissen, head of the Dutch police investigation.
Afterwards the missile launcher system “was taken back to Russia,” he added.
Using photos, videos, witness statements and phone conversations, investigators retraced the route taken by the convoy which brought the missile system into eastern Ukraine.
But to the frustration of relatives, the investigators did not name any suspects at their briefing in the central town of Nieuwegein, near Utrecht.
The investigation has been headed by the Dutch prosecution service, but includes teams from Australia, Belgium, Malaysia and Ukraine.
“What is clear is that the BUK missile system came from Russia to Ukraine, was fired and taken back to Russia. That clearly suggest the involvement of the Russian Federation,” Piet Ploeg, who lost three relatives in the disaster, told reporters.
The tragedy saw the EU slap tougher sanctions on Russia.
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