MH17 downed by Russian-made missile

[Flobalob]

Just a snippet of the full article: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-34511973

"Malaysian Airlines Flight MH17 crashed as a result of a Russian-made Buk missile, the Dutch Safety Board says.

The missile hit the front left of the plane causing other parts to break off, it said in a final report into the July 2014 disaster, which killed 298 people.

The West and Ukraine say Russian-backed rebels brought down the Boeing 777, but Russia blames Ukrainian forces.

The report does not say who fired the missile, but says airspace over eastern Ukraine should have been closed.

The plane - flying from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur - crashed at the height of the conflict between government troops and pro-Russian separatists.

Most of the victims were Dutch - 196, including some with dual nationality. The other passengers and crew were nationals from 10 countries.

A separate Dutch-led criminal investigation is under way.

The report says the three crew members in the cockpit were killed by the missile explosion instantly.

However, it adds, it was unclear at which point the others died, and the possibility of some remaining conscious for some time during the one-and-a-half minutes it took for the plane to go down could not be ruled out.

Presenting its findings at the Gilze-Rijen military base in the Netherlands, the safety board showed plane parts that had been brought back from the rebel-held Donetsk region and reconstructed.

Board president Djibbe Joustra said the impact pattern could not have been caused by a meteor, an air-to-air missile or an internal explosion.

Instead, he said, a warhead carried by a surface-to-air missile had detonated above the left-hand side of the cockpit, causing structural damage.

Mr Joustra said the missile was a Buk - which experts say both Russian and Ukrainian armies possess.

He added that paint had been found on metal fragments within the plane that matched with missile fragments on the ground.

The board does not have the authority to apportion blame, under the rules governing international crash investigations.

But speaking to reporters after the news conference, Mr Joustra said pro-Russian rebels were in charge of the area from where the missile that hit MH17 had been fired.

The government in Ukraine and several Western officials have said the missile was brought from Russia into the rebel-held part of Ukraine.

The Dutch-led criminal investigation has already published photos of the launcher being transported around rebel areas."

Just a snippet of the full article: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-34511973

[Dr Frook]

yep... if only Russia would put aside its old stupid soviet ways of never admitting making a mistake... but that's too much to ask of dictator-communist regimes.

[Shadow00]

Actually it's not just Russia not admitting to making a mistake.

I'm pretty certain most US residents of some age can remember the news headlines from Vietnam war era, (of course I haven't lived it, I've read them on the internet nonetheless) and it doesn't really showcase them admitting their bad and packing and leaving. Owell.

Governments barely ever admit mistakes, as it is almost always political suicide.
Even in Russia.

[Shadowstar1922]

yep... if only Russia would put aside its old stupid soviet ways of never admitting making a mistake... but that's too much to ask of dictator-communist regimes.

i think the word fascist better applies, for "dictator-communist" is an oxymoron.

the soviets and the republican russians alike do have a tendency to not admit to their mistakes. didn't the soviets cover up failed missions to space & the moon too? oh russia