13:42 28.09.2016

Media: Buk missile delivered from Kursk hits MH17 flight from militants-controlled territory

2 min read
Media: Buk missile delivered from Kursk hits MH17 flight from militants-controlled territory

The Buk missile system that shot down flight MH17 of Malaysian Airlines was brought to the militants-controlled territory of Ukraine from Kursk (Russia) and its launcher smuggled back to Russia next day after the tragedy, The Guardian has reported.

"An international criminal investigation into the shooting down of flight MH17 is likely to conclude that the plane was downed by a Buk missile fired from separatist-controlled territory in eastern Ukraine, diplomats say," The Guardian said.

According to diplomatic sources, international investigators will give a precise Google location showing that the Buk was located in militant-controlled territory, near the village of Snizhne, The Guardian said.

The Dutch-led Joint Investigation Team (JIT) has been working on the scenario that the Buk came from the Kremlin’s 53rd anti-aircraft missile brigade based in the Russian city of Kursk. It was smuggled across the Russian-Ukrainian border in July 2014 and spotted leaving militants-held Donetsk on a low-loader, heading east.

After arriving in Snizhne on the afternoon of 17 July, the Buk was offloaded and driven to a field south of town, investigators believe.

The Guardian said that the Buk shot down MH17 in error, believing it to be a Ukrainian army transport plane. The Buk was smuggled back across the Russian border early the next day.

The JIT’s findings are based on US satellite data and multiple sightings of the Buk as it trundled through militants-held areas.

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