Malaysian Plane likely brought down by Russian-made Buk Missile

Malaysian airline flight MH17 was most likely brought down using the Russian-made Buk-M1 missile system. This conclusion was reached in a confidential report made by a group of Russian engineers, including developers of the weapon system.

According to the Russian news outlet Novaya Gazeta, it has come into the possession of strictly confidential document entitled “The results of the expert assessment of the investigation into the crash of the Boeing-777 (flight MH17) on July 17, 2014, in the south-east of Ukraine.”

“The most likely cause of the destruction of Malaysia Airlines flight MH17 is the result of a surface-to-air missile 9M38M1 fired from the anti-aircraft missile systems ‘Buk-M1,’” the report states.

This conclusion was reached by experts analyzing the nature of the damage to the plane and remnants of the recovered munitions.

According to the journalists, this report, which was made by Russian defense industry engineers (including the R&D group which designs and manufactures missiles such as the “Buk”), must be sent to the Dutch specialists who are investigating the tragedy.

Reporters note that they themselves are not experts in aviation, ballistics, or rocket building, so they cannot independently assess the information. Due to its social significance, they have published this document in its full length for Russian and foreign experts to examine its arguments, facts, and conclusions. All stakeholders are invited to publish the results of their investigations through them in order to make all the circumstances of the crash public and put a stop to speculation on the subject.

“We can now definitely assert that the insinuations made by ex-separatist leader Strelkov-Girkin about a  ‘specially planted plane filled with corpses’ exploding over Donbass and the propagandist stories made by the Channel 1 and Komsomolskaya Pravda of some ‘Ukrainian fighter plane,’ ‘secret witnesses,’ or a ‘Spanish dispatcher’ are nothing but lies,” the message from Novaya Gazeta states. 

Later, the leader of the “DNR” separatists, Andrey Purgin, commented on the report. He continued to insist that, contrary to what the report states, the plane was brought down a by an aircraft belonging to the Ukrainian armed forces.