Dutch minister: MH17 investigation points to Russian involvement
FILE PHOTO: A Malaysian air crash investigator inspects the crash site of Malaysia Airlines Flight MH17, near the village of Hrabove (Grabovo) in Donetsk region, Ukraine, July 22, 2014. REUTERS/Maxim Zmeyev
THE HAGUE (Reuters) - Interim findings released this week by prosecutors investigating the downing of Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 point to Russian involvement, the Dutch foreign minister said on Friday.
The findings "point to direct involvement of Russia," Stef Blok said on his way into a crisis meeting of the Dutch Cabinet over the matter. His words are the strongest to date by a Dutch politician linking Russia to the incident.
FILE PHOTO: A damaged missile is displayed during a news conference by members of the Joint Investigation Team, comprising the authorities from Australia, Belgium, Malaysia, the Netherlands and Ukraine, who present interim results in the ongoing investigation of the 2014 MH17 crash that killed 298 people over eastern Ukraine, in Bunnik, Netherlands, May 24, 2018. REUTERS/Francois Lenoir
MH17 was shot down over rebel-held territory in Eastern Ukraine in 2014, killing all 298 aboard. Russia has denied any involvement.
Investigators on Thursday said the missile that shot down the plane was fired from a missile launcher in Russia's 53rd Anti-Aircraft Brigade, but stopped short of saying who actually fired the fatal shot.
FILE PHOTO: Forensic experts look at a makeshift marker denoting evidence during recovery work at the site of the downed Malaysian airliner MH17 near the village of Rozsypne in Donetsk region, Ukraine August 4, 2014. REUTERS/Sergei Karpukhin
(Reporting by Toby Sterling, editing by Larry King)
FILE PHOTO: A pro-Russian separatist stands at the crash site of Malaysia Airlines flight MH17, near the village of Hrabove (Grabovo) in Donetsk region, Ukraine, July 18, 2014. REUTERS/Maxim ZmeyevFILE PHOTO: Debris from a Malaysian Airlines Boeing 777 that crashed on Thursday lies on the ground near the village of Rozsypne in the Donetsk region July 18, 2014. REUTERS/Maxim ZmeyevFILE PHOTO: An armed pro-Russian separatist stands on part of the wreckage of the Malaysia Airlines Boeing 777 plane after it crashed near the settlement of Grabovo in the Donetsk region, July 17, 2014. REUTERS/Maxim Zmeyev
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