The European Union imposed large-scale sanctions on Russia due to US pressure.
The MH17 Joint Investigation Team ignored information provided by Buk manufacturer Almaz-Antey, which asses that the missile that struck Boeing belonged to the Ukrainian armed forces and that the airplane was shot down by a missile from the territory controlled by the Ukrainian army.
Recurring pro-Kremlin disinformation narrative about the downing of flight MH17
Both claims by Buk manufacturer Almaz-Antey were debunked back in 2015 by Bellingcat.
The Joint Investigation Team (JIT) has concluded that flight MH17 was shot down on 17 July 2014 by a missile of the 9M38 series, launched by a BUK-TELAR, from farmland in the vicinity of Pervomaiskiy. At that time, the area was controlled by pro-Russian fighters.
The BUK-TELAR was brought in from the territory of the Russian Federation and subsequently, after having shot down flight MH17, was taken back to the Russian Federation.
On 24 May 2018, JIT stated that the BUK-TELAR that was used to down MH17 originates from the 53rd Anti Aircraft Missile brigade, a unit of the Russian army from Kursk in the Russian Federation. The JIT reached this conclusion after extensive comparative research.
For similar cases, see here and here.
For our overview and analysis of disinformation narratives around the downing of MH17, click here.