Addendum
Australia and Netherlands say Russia liable for MH17 attack
June 1st 2018
Australian foreign minister, Julie Bishop, and Dutch foreign minister, Stef Blok, have jointly announced that “on the basis of conclusions of a Dutch investigation into the downing of Malaysia Airlines MH17, that their governments are now convinced Russia was responsible for the deployment of a Buk installation” that blew the aircraft and its 298 passengers and crew out of the sky on July 14, 2014. Read More »
“The government is now taking the next step by formally holding Russia accountable,” Blok said. “We call on Russia to accept its responsibility and cooperate fully with the process to establish the truth and achieve justice for the victims of flight MH17 and their next of kin.”
At press time, Dutch investigators announced they had concluded MH17 was struck by a Buk missile that exploded close to the airplane’s nose and punctured the hull of the aircraft.
The investigation team also confirmed the missile was supplied by Russia’s 53rd anti-aircraft rocket brigade in Kursk. To date, Russia has insisted it was not involved in the accident. At one stage it attempted to blame a now deceased “rogue” Ukranian military pilot, Vladyslav Voloshy. Russia also argued the Buk missile did not belong to Russia but to Ukraine rebel fighters.
After it was hit by the missile, the stricken jet crashed in rebel held territory near Donesk, close to the Russian-Ukraine border. The scheduled flight was bound for Kuala Lumpur from Amsterdam. Onboard were 143 Dutch nationals, 43 Malaysians, 27 Australians and several victims from Belgium, Britain, Germany, Indonesia and the Philippines.
