08 February 2023 , 12:42
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There are "strong indications" that Vladimir Putin "decided on supplying" a Buk missile system to Ukrainian separatists which downed flight MH17, Dutch prosecutors have said.
In the tragedy on July 17, 2014, 298 people, including 10 Britons, were killed when a missile shot down the plane heading from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur.
It has been proven that the aircraft was hit by a Russian-made missile over Ukraine and prosecutors said there is evidence that Russian President Putin decided to provide the missile to Moscow-backed separatists.
However, Dutch prosecutor Digna van Boetzelaer said "Although a lot of new information has been discovered about various people involved, the evidence is at the moment not concrete enough to lead to new prosecutions."
Flowers lie at the site of the crash of a Malaysia Airlines plane (AFP/Getty Images)There is no suggestion that Mr Putin was involved in ordering the aircraft to be shot down.
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Russia has always denied any involvement in the downing of MH17.
The announcement comes nearly three months after a Dutch court convicted two Russians and a Ukrainian rebel for their roles in shooting down the Boeing 777 and killing all 298 people on board on July 17, 2014. One Russian was acquitted by the court.
The convictions and the court's findings were seen as a clear indication that Moscow had a role in the tragedy. The Russian Foreign Ministry accused the court in November of bowing to pressure from Dutch politicians, prosecutors and the news media.
The convictions in November found that the Buk missile system came from the Russian military's 53rd Anti-Aircraft Missile Brigade, based in the city of Kursk.
The wreckage of the plane (Peter Dejong/AP/REX/Shutterstock)The plane was carrying 193 Dutch nationals. There were 43 Malaysians (including 15 crew), 27 Australians, 12 Indonesians, 10 Britons, four Germans, four Belgians, three Filipinos, one Canadian and one New Zealander on board.
The Brits were John Alder, 63, and Liam Sweeney, 28, two Newcastle United fans travelling to watch their team play; Glenn Thomas, 49, a spokesman for the World Health Organisation; Loughborough University student Ben Pocock, 20; Dog breeder Robert Ayley, 28; Andrew Hoare and his Dutch wife Estella; University of Leeds student Richard Mayne, 20; Former RAF search and rescue co-ordinator Stephen Anderson; and helicopter pilot Cameron Dalziel.
Two families tragically died too.