Investigators looking into the downing of Malaysia Airlines flight MH17 in 2014 have said there are “strong indications” Russian President Vladimir Putin approved the supply of the missile that shot down the aircraft.
“There are strong indications that the Russian President decided on supplying the Buk TELAR to the DPR (Donetsk People's Republic) separatists,” the joint investigation team from six countries said on Wednesday, citing intercepted phone calls.
But they said evidence of Mr Putin's and other Russian officials' involvement was not concrete enough to lead to a criminal conviction, and that they would end their investigation without further prosecutions.
Investigators had previously said they wanted to find out who actually crewed the BUK missile, and who was in the chain of command. The missile was allegedly brought from a Russian military base in the city of Kursk.
But they admitted that was not possible for now.
“The investigation has now reached its limit,” prosecutor Digna van Boetzelaer told a news conference in The Hague. “The findings are insufficient for the prosecution of new suspects.”
Russia has denied any involvement in the downing of the civilian airliner, which killed 298 passengers and crew.
In November, a Dutch court found three men guilty of 298 counts of murder in the downing of the flight and ordered them to pay more than €16 million ($16.5 million) in compensation.
Russians Igor Girkin and Sergei Dubinsky and Ukrainian citizen Leonid Kharchenko were found guilty of murder and intentionally causing an aircraft to crash, head judge Hendrik Steenhuis said.
Russian citizen Oleg Pulatov, who was the only defendant represented by lawyers, was found not guilty. None of the men attended the two-and-a-half-year trial.
Reading the verdict, Mr Steenhuis said that the three accused men did not directly fire the missile but supervised its deployment and its swift repatriation to Russia after the incident in the hope of averting an international outcry.
At the time the plane was shot down, Ukrainian forces were fighting Russian-backed separatists in eastern Ukraine's Donetsk province.
While Russia had annexed Crimea from Ukraine in March 2014, it denied military involvement in fighting in Donetsk at that time.
But as part of the conviction of the three men in November, the Dutch court ruled that Russia had in fact had “overall control” of separatist forces in Donetsk starting from May 2014.
Prosecutors said on Wednesday they could not identify the specific soldiers responsible for firing the missile system that downed the plane, which came from Russia's 53rd brigade in Kursk.
They cited a 2014 phone intercept between Russian officials as evidence that Mr Putin's approval had been necessary before a request for equipment made by the separatists could be granted.
Russian officials even postponed a decision to send weapons to Ukrainian separatists because Mr Putin was at a D-Day commemoration in France in June 2014, the investigators said.
They played an intercepted telephone call from an adviser saying the delay was “because there is only one who makes a decision (...), the person who is currently at a summit in France”.
In addition, they played a 2017 conversation between Mr Putin himself and the Russian-appointed chief administrator of Ukraine's Luhansk province in which they discussed the military situation and a prisoner exchange.
In pictures: Investigations continue into Malaysian Airlines flight MH17
Mr Putin however benefits from immunity as head of state, making any effort to prosecute the Russian leader impossible, the investigators said.
They added that “although we speak of strong indications, the high bar of complete and conclusive evidence is not reached” in relation to Mr Putin.
The Joint Investigation Team comprises members from the Netherlands, Australia, Belgium, Malaysia and Ukraine, the countries worst affected by the crash of the doomed Boeing 777.
Piet Ploeg, who heads a foundation representing victims, said he was disappointed that the investigation had ended, but was glad prosecutors had laid out their evidence for Mr Putin's involvement.
“We can't do a lot with it, Putin can't be prosecuted, said Mr Ploeg, who lost his brother, his brother’s wife, and his nephew in the crash. “We wanted to know who was ultimately responsible and that's clear.”
All 298 passengers and crew were killed when the Boeing 777 flying from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur was hit.
The plane's shooting scattered wreckage and bodies across Ukraine's famed sunflower fields and rural settlements.
The victims came from 10 countries, including 196 Dutch, 43 Malaysians and 38 Australians.
The crash caused global outrage and sanctions were imposed on Moscow.
In 2019, international investigators released intercepted phone calls showing what they said were links between the rebels and “high-ranking” Russian officials, including Vladislav Surkov, a top aide to Mr Putin.
MH17 Trial
Four reasons global stock markets are falling right now
There are many factors worrying investors right now and triggering a rush out of stock markets. Here are four of the biggest:
1. Rising US interest rates
The US Federal Reserve has increased interest rates three times this year in a bid to prevent its buoyant economy from overheating. They now stand at between 2 and 2.25 per cent and markets are pencilling in three more rises next year.
Kim Catechis, manager of the Legg Mason Martin Currie Global Emerging Markets Fund, says US inflation is rising and the Fed will continue to raise rates in 2019. “With inflationary pressures growing, an increasing number of corporates are guiding profitability expectations downwards for 2018 and 2019, citing the negative impact of rising costs.”
At the same time as rates are rising, central bankers in the US and Europe have been ending quantitative easing, bringing the era of cheap money to an end.
2. Stronger dollar
High US rates have driven up the value of the dollar and bond yields, and this is putting pressure on emerging market countries that took advantage of low interest rates to run up trillions in dollar-denominated debt. They have also suffered capital outflows as international investors have switched to the US, driving markets lower. Omar Negyal, portfolio manager of the JP Morgan Global Emerging Markets Income Trust, says this looks like a buying opportunity. “Despite short-term volatility we remain positive about long-term prospects and profitability for emerging markets.”
3. Global trade war
Ritu Vohora, investment director at fund manager M&G, says markets fear that US President Donald Trump’s spat with China will escalate into a full-blown global trade war, with both sides suffering. “The US economy is robust enough to absorb higher input costs now, but this may not be the case as tariffs escalate. However, with a host of factors hitting investor sentiment, this is becoming a stock picker’s market.”
4. Eurozone uncertainty
Europe faces two challenges right now in the shape of Brexit and the new populist government in eurozone member Italy.
Chris Beauchamp, chief market analyst at IG, which has offices in Dubai, says the stand-off between between Rome and Brussels threatens to become much more serious. "As with Brexit, neither side appears willing to step back from the edge, threatening more trouble down the line.”
The European economy may also be slowing, Mr Beauchamp warns. “A four-year low in eurozone manufacturing confidence highlights the fact that producers see a bumpy road ahead, with US-EU trade talks remaining a major question-mark for exporters.”
Temple numbers
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Height: 24 meters
Ground floor banquet hall: 370 square metres to accommodate about 750 people
Ground floor multipurpose hall: 92 square metres for up to 200 people
First floor main Prayer Hall: 465 square metres to hold 1,500 people at a time
First floor terrace areas: 2,30 square metres
Temple will be spread over 6,900 square metres
Structure includes two basements, ground and first floor
Vidaamuyarchi
Director: Magizh Thirumeni
Stars: Ajith Kumar, Arjun Sarja, Trisha Krishnan, Regina Cassandra
Rating: 4/5
Results
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Why are asylum seekers being housed in hotels?
The number of asylum applications in the UK has reached a new record high, driven by those illegally entering the country in small boats crossing the English Channel.
A total of 111,084 people applied for asylum in the UK in the year to June 2025, the highest number for any 12-month period since current records began in 2001.
Asylum seekers and their families can be housed in temporary accommodation while their claim is assessed.
The Home Office provides the accommodation, meaning asylum seekers cannot choose where they live.
When there is not enough housing, the Home Office can move people to hotels or large sites like former military bases.
SPECS
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Farage on Muslim Brotherhood
Nigel Farage told Reform's annual conference that the party will proscribe the Muslim Brotherhood if he becomes Prime Minister.
"We will stop dangerous organisations with links to terrorism operating in our country," he said. "Quite why we've been so gutless about this – both Labour and Conservative – I don't know.
“All across the Middle East, countries have banned and proscribed the Muslim Brotherhood as a dangerous organisation. We will do the very same.”
It is 10 years since a ground-breaking report into the Muslim Brotherhood by Sir John Jenkins.
Among the former diplomat's findings was an assessment that “the use of extreme violence in the pursuit of the perfect Islamic society” has “never been institutionally disowned” by the movement.
The prime minister at the time, David Cameron, who commissioned the report, said membership or association with the Muslim Brotherhood was a "possible indicator of extremism" but it would not be banned.
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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Brief scoreline:
Liverpool 2
Mane 51', Salah 53'
Chelsea 0
Man of the Match: Mohamed Salah (Liverpool)
