investigator from the international Joint Investigation Team ( JIT ) have identified the missile used to shoot down Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 over Ukraine in 2014 . The five - Carry Nation squad says the Buk missile belonged to a part of the Russian armed force play and was fired from a part of eastern Ukraine controlled by pro - Russian separatists . The plane crash killed all 298 gang and passengers onboard .
At anews conferencein the Netherlands on Thursday , the Dutch - lead team unveil a simulation showing the path of Buk that they say grow from Russia ’s 53rd anti - aircraft missile brigade , consisting of three pack with a few hundred people working in 2014 . In 2016 , the team confirmed two parts of the projectile that incorporate theventuri – a system that emits exhaust system – and the locomotive engine casing were witness in easterly Ukraine . The missile engine shell showed the number 9 д 1318869032 – a code investigator say indicates the projectile was produced in Moscow in 1986 . The damage pattern on the wreckage , as well as sherd of shrapnel and traces of paint on projectile shard , further help oneself to identify the weapon organization used .
The squad then analyzed a number of equipment characteristic from Ukrainian and Russian mental image of Buk . When combined , these specific characteristics “ can be deliberate as a fingermark ” – this one play off the one that conjoin the 53rd brigade on June 23 - 25 in 2014 , just shy of three hebdomad before MH17 was shot down .
In 2016 , the investigatory squad name approximately 100 people who could potentially be linked . Now , they ’ve narrowed it to several dozen . How actively they were involved is still the interrogative . antecedently releasedfootageshows a pretense of the missile ’s trajectory to establish where it exploded . Investigators say the missile arrangement was transported across Russia ’s border to Ukraine . In the past tense , the Russian government has abnegate claim that Russian military forces and equipment were used across the Ukraine perimeter .
Chief prosecutor Fred Westerbeke now asks the world for assistance in providing information . functionary are “ convinced that many people have this information . ”
Two days earlier , families of the victims wrote anopen letterto the Russian government , saying “ we do not find fault the Russian masses for what happened ” despite “ all the credible evidence point[ing ] in that way . ”
MH17 was a scheduled passenger flight from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur and was traveling over conflict - hit Ukraine when it was struck down . TheDutch Safety Boardsays a missile explode just above and to the left of the cockpit , causing the planer to explode in mid - air .
