Russia: Missile That Shot Down Flight MH17 Was Ukrainian

Malaysia Airlines flight MH17 taxis in 2011 in Fiumicino Airport, Rome, Italy. Photo: Alan Wilson / Wikimedia Commons
Malaysia Airlines flight MH17 taxis in 2011 in Fiumicino Airport, Rome, Italy. Photo: Alan Wilson / Wikimedia Commons

MOSCOW — The Russian military says the missile that shot down Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 came from the arsenals of the Ukrainian army, not from Russia.

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The passenger jet was shot down by a Soviet-made missile over rebel-held eastern Ukraine in July 2014, killing all 298 people aboard. The Netherlands and Australia announced in May that they believe the missile was transported to Ukraine from a military unit in the Russian city of Kursk.

Russia has vehemently denied involvement. Lt. Gen. Nikolai Parshin, chief of the Missile and Artillery Directorate at the Russian Defense Ministry, told reporters on Monday that the military had studied archives at the research center that produced the Buk missiles.

He said the missile in question was transported to a military unit in 1986 and to their knowledge never left Ukraine.

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