Malaysian Airlines Flight MH17 was shot down by pro-Russian separatists on July 17, according to the conclusions of the German Foreign Intelligence Service, which completed its detailed analysis of the evidence this month. The conclusions of the agency were unambiguous, it reported, and Russian claims that Ukrainian soldiers had fired the missile were false.
“It was pro-Russian separatists,” said Bundesnachrichtendienst (BND) President Gerhard Schindler. Pro-Russian separatists captured a BUK air defense missile system at a Ukrainian military base and shot a missile that exploded in direct proximity to the plane, according to the BND report.
Schindler said that the findings were unambiguous.
Schindler also disconfirmed Russian claims that Ukrainian photos had been manipulated and that a Ukrainian fighter jet had been flying nearby to MH17 when it was shot down. Claims that the missile had been fired by Ukrainian soldiers were also false, Schindler stated.
The German agency made its conclusions after completing a detailed analysis. BND presented their case to members of the parliamentary control committee Oct. 8, providing satellite image and diverse photographic and other evidence. The news was first reported Sunday in Der Spiegel.
MH17 was shot down while en route from Amsterdam to Kuala Lampur July 17, killing 298 people, and since that time Russia and Ukraine have blamed each other for the downing of the plane.
Further investigations into the crime have been initiated, according to a spokesperson for the German Federal Prosecutor’s Office. The identities of the perpetrators of the attack on MH17 are being sought. The downing of MH17 is considered to be a possible war crime.