Photo of Likely Missile That Brought Down MH17 Released by Investigators
All 298 people on board the plane were killed in the 2014 crash.
— -- Investigators have released a picture of what they believe is a portion of the missile that caused MH17 to crash in July 2014.
The Joint Investigative Team, which is being led by Dutch officials, is tasked with determining how the plane crashed, killing all 298 people on board. The plane was en route from Kuala Lumpur to Amsterdam.
The investigators now want more information from Russia about the Buk missile but Russia still denies any involvement, blaming Ukrainian forces. Ukraine and the West say Russian-backed rebels fired the weapon. The Dutch Safety Board report determined last year that the plane was downed by a Russian-made Buk but did not formally conclude who fired the missile.
Investigators are studying tiny metal fragments found at the crash site and have combed the landscape in search of clues.
But the report notes how the regional conflict is impacting the investigation.
“The most significant complication: the crime scene is located in a war zone,” the report reads. “For the forensic investigation the police investigators are forced to limit themselves to only the material that was brought back from Ukraine to the Netherlands: debris, soil samples and other materials.”
The final report is expected later this year.