Social media used to prove MH17 was downed by Russian Buk missile

The mystery surrounding the downing of Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 may have been resolved.

After a two-year Dutch-led criminal probe, the Joint Investigation Team (JIT) has compiled an interim report which indicates that flight MH17 that crashed in eastern Ukraine in July 2014 was shot down by a Russian Buk missile. It's based on social media posts, intercepted telephone conversations between rebel leaders and witness statements.

All 283 passengers and 15 crew members were killed when the plane, which was en route from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur, crashed.

During a press conference Wednesday, the JIT presented its interim findings, which included a video depicting the Buk missile’s journey on a low-loader semi trailer from Russia into rebel-held Donetsk and to the site of the launch.

The investigation verified the journey with telephone conversations, witness accounts and social media evidence, mirroring earlier findings by citizen journalist website Bellingcat.

Since the plane crashed on July 17, 2014, the JIT's Dutch safety officials have been working with counterparts from Australia, Belgium, Malaysia and Ukraine to gather evidence needed to draw solid conclusions about the cause of the disaster.

Unfortunately, the scene of the crime in Ukraine's eastern Donetsk Oblast was located in an active war zone, which allowed limited access so the team had to dig much deeper.

Thanks to several witnesses who came forward following an appeal for information from the public and the photographs and video that the investigation team found on social media, along with the information sourced by Bellingcat and contributors, the JIT believes it has cracked the case.

Bellingcat's investigative reporting identified the field from which the Buk was fired and also traced the missile back to Russia’s 53rd anti-aircraft unit, in the Russian city of Kursk. Bellingcat's founder, Eliot Higgins, was included as an official witness in the JIT investigation.

Two other videos released Wednesday show intercepted telephone conversations from July 2014 and June 2015. In the conversations the Buk missile is discussed.

During the investigation, forensic samples were also taken from the physical remains and luggage of passengers -- two-thirds of whom were Dutch nationals -- and Malaysian crew members. Satellite data and communications intercepts were also reviewed, and a research team took soil samples in eastern Ukraine. They also established the location of cellphone towers and the layout of local telephone network.

Russia has consistently denied allegations connecting pro-Moscow rebels in eastern Ukraine to the disaster, and on Monday, the Russian military announced that new radio-location data, which would be turned over to investigators, claiming it showed the missile that downed the MH17 Boeing 777 did not originate from rebel-controlled territory.

"If there was a rocket it could only have been launched from a different area," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters Wednesday, ignoring the findings of the investigation. "You can't argue with it, it can't be discussed."

Another investigation led by Dutch safety officials last year concluded that MH17 was also downed by a Buk missile originating from pro-Russian rebel territory.

The Associated Press contributed reporting.

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