KYIV, Ukraine—More than two years after a Russian surface-to-air missile shot down a civilian airliner over eastern Ukraine, the embattled region remains a de facto no-fly zone for both civilian and military aircraft.
On Wednesday, an international investigative team concluded there was “no doubt” the Buk missile that shot down Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 on July 17, 2014, killing all 298 on board, was fired from within territory controlled by pro-Russian separatists.
The missile’s mobile launch vehicle belonged to Russia’s 53rd Air Defense Brigade and was sent back to Russia the next day, the report said.
Moscow disputed the report. Maria Zakharova, spokeswoman for the Russian Foreign Ministry, called the findings “biased and politically motivated.”
Yet, according to Ukrainian, U.S., and independent civilian intelligence investigations, Russia continues to send surface-to-air missile systems into eastern Ukraine to support a combined force of approximately 35,000 pro-Russian separatists and as many as 6,000 Russian regulars.
