Russian Officials Demand New Probe into MH17 Crash
Russian officials have requested a new probe into the downing of Malaysian Airlines flight 17 after an independent Dutch investigation recently revealed that the passenger aircraft was likely downed by a Russian missile.
Oleg Storchevoi, the deputy head of Russia's state air transport agency, said in a statement on Wednesday that the claims by the Dutch investigation that MH17 was struck by a Russia-owned missile are inaccurate, arguing that the plane was more likely struck by a Ukrainian missile.
"The Russian commission categorically disagrees with the conclusions of the final report. They are fundamentally wrong, the lack of logic there is beyond comparison," Storchevoi said during a press conferene this week. "I had a feeling that the commission was cherry-picking the evidence to suit a theory they had chosen."
The Dutch investigation, which revealed its findings this week, has suggested that the plane was struck by a Russian missile as it flew over tense fighting between Russian forces and the Ukraine.
"Flight MH17 crashed as a result of the detonation of a warhead outside the airplane against the left-hand side of the cockpit," Chairman of the Dutch Safety Board, Tjibbe Joustra, said in a statement.
"This warhead fits the kind of missile that is installed in the BUK surface-to-air missile system," the statement continued.
"We have concluded as a precaution there was sufficient reason for the Ukrainian authorities to close the air space above the eastern part of their country," Joustra added.
