Investigators on the hunt for those responsible for downing Malaysian Airlines flight MH17 over Ukraine are now convinced the Russian military played a pivotal role in providing the deadly missile.
Key points:
- JIT has called for witnesses to come forward with information
- 298 people, including 38 Australians, died when the plane was shot down in 2014
- Families have said Russian world cup will have a 'different, dark meaning'
This is the first time the official investigators have named the Russian Federation's 53rd anti-aircraft missile brigade based in Kursk.
At a briefing in the Netherlands, the Joint Investigation Team (JIT), which includes Australian officers, showed video and pictures of the path taken by the truck transporting the missile across the border.
Wilbert Paulissen, the head of the National Crime Squad of the National Police of the Netherlands, said the JIT wanted witnesses to urgently come forward.
"We are looking for people who were directly involved," he said.
"We have four questions — who was part of the team, what instructions where they given and by whom.
"Also who was responsible for the operational deployment.
"And finally, who can provide us with most information about the procedures in this brigade?" Mr Paulissen said.
He said they were convinced family, friends or acquaintances would have the answers.
Photo: 38 Australians were among the 298 people who died when the plane was shot down. (Reuters: Maxim Zmeyev)
The Boeing 777 was flying from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur when it was shot down on July 17, 2014.
All 298 people onboard, including 38 Australians, were killed.
Australians lost on MH17
A nun, a teacher, a husband-and-wife pair of doctors, a businessman and his three grandchildren are just some of the Australian lives cut short by the attack on MH17.
It was just 50 kilometres from the Ukraine-Russia border and the investigation into who brought it down continues.
The deadly incident happened during the war in Donbass.
The Dutch Safety Board concluded in October 2015 that a Buk surface-to-air missile was fired at the plane.
A year later the Dutch-led JIT concluded the missile had been brought into Ukraine from Russia on the day of the crash and fired from a pro-Russian rebel-controlled area and then the launcher moved back across the border to Russia.
At that time roughly 100 people had been identified as witnesses or suspects but no names were released.
Australian Federal Police Commander Jennifer Hurst pointed to details about the BUK that revealed its origins, including the year of production, 1986, and the unique identification number.
"We urgently appeal to everyone, anywhere in the world who can give the investigation team information on the following," she said.
She said details about the handwriting on the casing and the numbers were needed.
Families hold Russia responsible
Photo: Jack O'Brien, who was on flight MH17, with his dad Jon. (Supplied
The latest development comes after some of the families wrote an
open letter to the Russian people which said that the FIFA World Cup in Russia next month will have a "different, dark meaning".
The letter was signed by the relatives of nine victims, including three Australians.
Jon O'Brien, the father of 25-year-old Australian Jack O'Brien, was one of the instigators of the letter.
"Despite it being nearly four years since our lives were shattered, we struggle to comprehend what happened," the letter said.
"We hold the Russian state and its leaders as ultimately responsible for the deaths of our family members. All the credible evidence points in that direction."
The Australian Government announced in the May budget it would put $50m over four years towards the prosecution costs of bringing those responsible to justice.
The families said they had confidence in the thoroughness and impartiality of the work — despite the long wait.
The open source investigation team Bellingcat is due to release more of its findings tomorrow in The Hague.
It had previously identified the involvement of the 53rd anti-aircraft missile brigade, based in Kursk.
It alleged the retired Russian colonel Nikolai Tkachyov was a "figure of interest" in the downing of MH17.
He is now chief inspector of Russia's Central Military District.
Photo: The shooting down of MH17 shocked the world in 2014.
Topics: disasters-and-accidents,
government-and-politics,
world-politics,
air-and-space,
netherlands,
malaysia,
russian-federation,
ukraine
First posted about an hour agoThu 24 May 2018, 7:19pm
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