Inquiry Finds Malaysia Airlines Flight MH17 Was Shot Down by a Russian Buk surface-to-air missile

Inquiry Finds Malaysia Airlines Flight MH17 Was Shot Down by a Russian Buk surface-to-air missile

Russia claims: "The missile must have been fired from Ukrainian-held territory, and that it was of a type that is no longer found in Russia’s arsenal."

The Safety Board report said that simulations of the missile's trajectory showed it came from somewhere in an area covering some 320 kilometers southeast of Grabovo, Ukraine -- an area mostly controlled by separatists.

The makers of the Buk said their tests had shown that the aircraft could not have been hit by a missile fired from rebel-controlled territory.

In other words, it's not yet clear who to blame for firing the missile itself.

The report was clear on one element of blame, however: the government of Ukraine clearly should have closed the airspace and did not. Even that is disputed by Ukraine: "Hennadiy Zubko, head of a separate probe by Ukraine, said Ukrainian authorities had followed the established procedure. All the recommendations from the ICAO (International Civil Aviation Organization) were carried out ... Ukraine closed its airspace below 9,750 meters (32,000 feet)."