International investigators said Wednesday there were “strong indications” that Russian President Vladimir Putin decided to supply Ukrainian separatists with the missile he shot down. flight MH17 in eastern Ukraine in 2014.
“There are strong indications that the Russian president decided to hand over the Buk Loom to the DPR separatists,” the joint international investigation team (JIT) said in a statement, referring to the self-proclaimed Donetsk People’s Republic in eastern Ukraine.
The Malaysian Airlines Boeing 777, flying from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur, was shot down on July 17, 2014 by a Soviet-made Buk missile as it flew over the Donbass region of eastern Ukraine, already widely controlled. by pro-Russian separatists. The 298 personas on board the plane, including 196 Dutchmen, died.
investigation suspended
On Wednesday, investigators announced that they had suspended the investigation into the downing of the flight because they did not have enough evidence to prosecute other suspects. “The investigation he reached his limit, all leads were exhausted, so the investigation was suspended. The evidence is insufficient for further prosecutions,” Dutch prosecutor Digna van Boetzelaer said during a press conference in The Hague.
In November, a Dutch court sentenced in absentia three men, two Russians and a Ukrainian, to life imprisonment for the downing of that plane.