'Strong indications' Putin involved in MH17 downing, prosecutors say as probe ends

International prosecutors said they had found "strong indications" Russian President Vladimir Putin approved the use in Ukraine of a Russian missile system which shot down Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 (MH17) over the east of the country in 2014. However, evidence of Putin's and other Russian officials' involvement was not conclusive enough to lead to a criminal conviction, they said, ending their probe for now. MH17 was shot down by a Russian BUK missile system as it flew over eastern Ukraine from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur on July 17, 2014, killing all 298 passengers and crew, including 196 Dutch citizens. "There are strong indications that the Russian president decided on supplying the BUK," the prosecutors said in a statement on Wednesday. But prosecutor Digna van Boetzelaer told a news conference in The Hague the investigation had now "reached its limit". "The findings are insufficient for the prosecution of new suspects," she said. The Kremlin, which has repeatedly denied any Russian state involvement in the past, did not immediately respond to a request for comment. In November, a Dutch court convicted two former Russian intelligence agents and a Ukrainian separatist leader of murder for helping arrange the missile system used to shoot the plane down. The men, who were tried in absentia, remain at large. Prosecutors said on Wednesday they could not identify the specific soldiers responsible for operating the missile system, which came from Russia's 53rd brigade in Kursk. But they cited two phone intercepts in their evidence. The first was a 2014 conversation between Russian officials in which one indicated Putin's approval was necessary before a request for equipment made by the separatists could be granted. "It is not known whether the request explicitly mentions a BUK system. A little later, the heavier air defence systems are delivered, including the BUK that shoots down MH17," prosecutors said.<br/>