A radar station in Russia's Rostov region was unable to track the launch of the Russian Buk missile that shot down a Boeing passenger airline MH17 in July 2014 because it was calibrated only to track airplanes, not missiles.

A statement posted to the website of the Netherlands Prosecutor's Office says the Joint Investigation Team (JIT) has come to this conclusion.

"A BUK-missile launched from the launching location established by the JIT need not be visible on the radar images of the radar station Ust-Donetsk at all. An important explanation of the absence of the BUK-missile on the radar images lies in the flight properties of a BUK-missile," the statement says.

As earlier reported, JIT investigators have concluded that a Russian Buk missile downed the Maylasian Airlines flight MH17 flying over occupied Donbas in July 2014, killing all 298 passengers on board. Russian officials have denied repeatedly any involvement.