International prosecutors say they found "strong indications" Russian President Vladimir Putin approved the use of a Russian missile system that shot down Flight MH17 over eastern Ukraine in 2014.
Speaking from the Hague, representatives from the Joint Investigation Team (JIT), which included representatives from the Netherlands and Australia, presented evidence implicating Mr Putin, including intercepted phone calls.
They did not suggest Mr Putin ordered the aircraft to be shot down.
Dutch prosecutor Digna van Boetzelaer was careful not to label Mr Putin a "suspect", instead saying there were "strong indications, but we do not reach that high bar that it is a closed case".
As a head of state, Mr Putin is protected by immunity under Dutch law, which means the investigators are unable to pursue prosecution at the moment.
"Only after he is not a head of state can we look into what is next. Step by step," Ms van Boetzelaer said.
Investigators said they had hit a wall in the investigation, largely due to Russia's refusal to cooperate with the investigation, and would therefore suspend it.
Ms van Boetzelaer said on Wednesday: "The investigation has now reached its limit."
"After eight and a half years, the JIT has now exhausted all avenues of investigation," Ms van Boetzelaer said as the team began laying out the evidence it uncovered in its long-running investigation.
Ukraine, which was represented in the JIT, said it would continue to explore international legal mechanisms to bring Mr Putin to justice.
"The difficulty of obtaining evidence and functional immunity do not allow prosecuting the president of the RF (Russian Federation) in national courts," prosecutor-general Andriy Kostin wrote on Twitter.
Flight MH17 was struck by a BUK missile fired by pro-Russia separatists as it flew over the Donbas region of Ukraine on its way from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur on July 15, 2014.
There were 298 people on board, including 38 Australians, 193 Dutch citizens and 15 Malaysian crew. None survived.
Investigators said they were satisfied with what they had uncovered in terms of how the missile came to be in Ukraine.
How and why the order was made to shoot down the plane, however, remains a mystery.
"Our next answers, they lay in Russia. And as long as there is no cooperation, the answers will remain there," Dutch investigator Andy Kraag said.
While the investigation is suspended, it can be reopened if new evidence comes to light.
Australia's assistant commissioner, David McLean, likened the suspension of the investigation to a cold case homicide.
"Those matters are rarely, if ever, put away," he said.
"They will be on our books. There will be someone with information in the community that may come forward at any point in time.
"What we've done today in suspending a long-running investigation is not unique, it's quite routine."
Putin's phone call intercepted
The Russian government has always denied any involvement in the downing of the flight over eastern Ukraine on July 17, 2014, and has refused to cooperate with the international investigation.
In fact, Moscow denied any involvement whatsoever in the conflict that began in Donbas in 2014.
Phone conversations intercepted by the JIT tell another story.
Investigators played recordings of a tapped phone conversation between Russian officials as evidence that Mr Putin's approval had been necessary before a request for heavy weaponry made by the separatists could be granted.
At the time, the separatists were asking Moscow for anti-aircraft systems to repel Ukrainian forces.
In addition, they played a 2017 conversation between Mr Putin and the Russia-appointed chief administrator of Ukraine's Luhansk province, during which they discussed the military situation and a prisoner exchange.
Prosecutors said they could not identify the specific soldiers responsible for firing the missile system that downed the plane, which came from Russia's 53rd brigade in Kursk.
Paul Guard, whose parents Roger and Jill Guard, from Toowoomba, died in the attack, told the ABC that, though he was grateful for the efforts of investigators to piece together what happened, he felt some disappointment that he may never know the details of why the plane was shot down.
"The answer of why it was shot down is something that may never be known since, as the investigators pointed out, it's fairly difficult to to work out unless Russia is going to cooperate, which it doesn't look like it will any time soon," he said.
The prime minister was asked in Canberra what he would say to Mr Putin if he came face to face with him, in the wake of the latest evidence in the MH17 case being released.
"I'd say that you are reprehensible," he said.
"That … clearly the shooting down of MH17 was an act of terrorism that had an impact here in Australia but on many [other] countries as well.
"And we'll continue to pursue these issues with every avenue at our disposal."
Foreign Minister Penny Wong acknowledged the suspension of the investigation would be difficult for the relatives of the victims.
“Today’s announcement will be distressing for many. Our thoughts remain with those who lost their lives, their families and loved ones, and we acknowledge the distress they will be feeling with this announcement,” Ms Wong said in a statement.
The JIT probe is separate to a criminal trial which, in November 2022, issued life sentences in absentia to Russians Igor Girkin and Sergei Dubisnki and Ukrainian rebel commander Leonid Karchenko for their roles in the downing of the plane.
The court concluded the Malaysia Airlines flight had been mistaken for a Ukrainian military aircraft, and that the BUK missile had been fired deliberately to bring down what they thought was a military plane.
It found that even if the target had been a military aircraft rather than a civilian airliner, the three men were guilty of bringing down the plane and of mass murder.
In September 2022, Russia withdrew from the European Convention on Human Rights, but the court can still hear claims against Russia regarding actions up until that date.
ABC with wires
