Malaysia Airlines flight was downed by Russian military unit, investigation shows

The missile used to shoot down a Malaysia Airlines passenger jet over eastern Ukraine in 2014 belonged to a Russia-based military unit, an international team of investigators said Thursday after painstakingly studying video and photos of a military convoy. The criminal investigation team "has concluded that the Buk Telar with which Flight MH17 was shot down is from the 53rd anti-aircraft missile brigade from Kursk in the Russian Federation," said Wilbert Paulissen, head of the Netherlands' National Crime Squad, referring to the missile system used. It was the clearest link yet published by the investigators to the involvement of Russian military in the deadly surface-to-air missile strike on the Boeing 777, and it echoed findings published in 2016 by the Bellingcat investigative group. Russia has always denied involvement in the downing of Flight 17. On Thursday, Russia criticized the Joint Investigation Team, or JIT, for relying on claims by Bellingcat. "If the international investigative team is indeed interested in tracking down the real culprits of the MH17 catastrophe, its members would better rely on facts and witness testimony and not fakes produced by Bellingcat and Ukraine's Security Service," the Russian Defense Ministry said. The Russian Foreign Ministry also criticized the investigators for allegedly ignoring evidence provided by Russia, including radar surveillance of the airspace at the time of the flight. "In these circumstances, we have legitimate questions about the true underlying cause of the decision of the JIT to disclose the preliminary conclusion," the Foreign Ministry said.<br/>