Russia angry at news of "Russian BUK missile" at MH17 crash site

According to the Russian foreign affairs website RT on August 12, investigators handling the MH17 case said they could not confirm information about finding debris of a Russian-made BUK surface-to-air missile at the scene of the tragic plane crash in eastern Ukraine.

Previously, in a joint statement between the Joint Investigation Team (JIT) and the Dutch Safety Board, it was said that the agency was handling "many components, possibly from the BUK surface-to-air missile system at the scene of the shooting down of Malaysia Airlines flight MH17 in eastern Ukraine."

After this announcement was released, many Western media outlets made headlines saying that "Russian missiles" or "Russian-made missiles" were at the MH17 crash site.

However, in an interview with RT, JIT spokesman Wim de Bruin dismissed that possibility, saying "it is too early to draw any conclusions at this point."

The BUK-M1 surface-to-air missile system is present in many former Soviet republics, including Ukraine. Photo: RT

The JIT and the Dutch Safety Board are currently meeting in The Hague (Netherlands) to complete a report expected to be published next October on the plane crash that killed 298 passengers and crew.

The West has repeatedly accused separatists in Ukraine of using a BUK missile to shoot down MH17. However, Russia has denied this and said there is evidence that a Ukrainian Air Force Su-25 shot down MH17 with an air-to-air missile.

Last month, arms manufacturer Almaz-Antey also released its own investigation results, saying the Boeing 777 could have been shot down by an older generation BUK-M1 surface-to-air missile system.

Many former Soviet republics also possess this system, including Ukraine.

Flight MH17 from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur was shot down over eastern Ukraine on July 17, 2014.

Last month, Russia vetoed a draft UN Security Council resolution to establish an international tribunal to try the case.

According to Vietnam+