As the controversy over who shot down Malaysian Airlines flight MH17 continues, the Russian maker of the Buk surface-to-air missile has claimed that the aircraft was brought down by an older version of the missile, which isn't in service with the Russian military but is in Ukrainian arsenals.
Addressing the press, Mikhail Malyshevsky, advisor to the director general of the state-controlled Almaz-Antei consortium, said that the analysis was based on the photographs of the wreckage made available to the public, reported News.com.au.
Russian officials and state media had earlier claimed that the Boeing 777 aircraft had been shot by a Ukrainian warplane.
All the 298 people onboard MH17 were killed when the flight was shot down over the conflict-torn eastern region of Ukraine. Kiev and the west blamed Moscow for supplying the surface-to-air missile, which was used to bring down the plane, to rebels, an allegation that was denied by Russia.
A spokesman for the Dutch Safety Board, which is probing the crash, declined to comment on the statement. They are expected to produce a final report in October.