There are "strong indications" that Vladimir Putin supplied the missile system used to shoot down Malaysia Airlines flight MH17, investigators have said.
The international team of investigators suspended their probe into the tragedy on Wednesday, saying that they have insufficient evidence to launch any fresh prosecutions. It comes after three people, two from Russia and one from Ukraine, were convicted of murder for their roles in shooting down the Boeing 777 that was travelling from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur on July 17, 2014.
All 298 passengers and crew were killed when the flight was brought down over Ukraine, including Newcastle United fans Liam Sweeney, 28, and John Alder, 63. The pair were travelling to New Zealand to watch the Magpies in a pre-season friendly, and were two of 10 British nationals who lost their lives on the flight.
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Four defendants went on trial at The Hague in the Netherlands in March 2020 for their alleged involvement in the tragedy, charged with multiple counts of murder. After a trial lasting more than two years, one of the men, Oleg Pulatov, was acquitted for lack of evidence, while Igor Girkin, Sergey Dubinskiy and Leonid Kharchenko were all convicted in November.
The three men were sentenced to life imprisonment, but it is unclear whether they will ever serve their sentences after they failed to appear in court to answer the charges. The convictions and the court's finding that the surface-to-air Buk missile which brought down the plane came from a Russian military base were seen as a clear indication that Moscow had a role in the tragedy.
Russia has always denied its involvement, with the Russian Foreign Ministry accusing the Dutch court in November of bowing to pressure from Dutch politicians, prosecutors and the media. However, the convictions in November held that in 2014 Moscow was in overall control over the separatist area of eastern Ukraine where the missile was launched from.
The Joint Investigation Team is made up of experts from the Netherlands, Australia, Malaysia, Belgium and Ukraine. Dutch prosecutor Digna van Boetzelaer said "the investigation has now reached its limit" and that "all leads have been exhausted" as the team laid out their evidence.
Investigators added: "Although a lot of new information has been discovered about various people involved, the evidence is at the moment not concrete enough to lead to new prosecutions."
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