New Report Confirms Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 Was Shot Down by a Russian-Made Missile

The Dutch Safety Board has concluded that Flight 17 was hit by a Russian-made Buk missile.

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The Dutch Safety Board (DSB) have revealed the findings of their final report on the crash of Malaysia Airlines Flight 17, concluding that a "surface-to-air missile" exploded near the cockpit and immediately killed three crew members. Following the explosion, the front of the aircraft "broke off," sending the plane to the ground over the eastern region of Ukraine.

Though the report does not expressly say who was responsible for the missile, DSB chairman Tjibbe Joustra did reveal that it was a "Russian-made Buk missile fired from eastern Ukraine," according to USA Today. The warhead that took down the plane reportedly fits a Buk rocket system, tying it to Russian military technology. Joustra also suggested that Ukraine should have closed its airspace to civil aircraft due to the extensive conflict ongoing between Russian-supported "separatists" and various government forces: "None of the parties involved recognized the risk from the armed conflict on the ground."

"What I would really like to do is to call on the Russian authorities to respect and also give full cooperation to this report and the continued investigation that the criminal prosecutors are doing," Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte told reporters on Tuesday, according to CNN. "We must do the utmost so that the people who did it will not avoid punishment." All 298 passengers aboard Flight 17 were killed in the tragic crash in July of last year.

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