Judge sees evidence of Buk missile being used in downing of MH17 airliner

A judge in the Dutch murder trial over the downing of a Malaysian airliner over rebel-held eastern Ukraine in 2014 said on Tuesday there was evidence the airplane was hit by an outside explosion caused by a Russian-made Buk missile. Judges on Tuesday started reading out the evidence in the trial in the Netherlands against four fugitive suspects - three Russians and a Ukrainian citizen - accused of shooting down the plane on July 17 2014 and killing all 298 people on board. Flight MH17 from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur crashed in a field in territory held by pro-Russian separatists fighting against Ukrainian forces after being shot down with what international investigators say was a Russian surface-to-air missile. “Experts have stated that the impact on the hull [of the plane] is compatible with a Buk missile system and a Buk warhead. No damage was found that would not be compatible with that scenario, or that would indicate another scenario”, judge Hendrik Steenhuis said.<br/>