Russian rocket did not shoot down MH17: Putin

SAINT PETERSBURG: Russian President Vladimir Putin on Friday said the rocket that shot down flight MH17 over war-torn eastern Ukraine in 2014 was “of course” not Russian, dismissing Dutch and Australian blame on Moscow for the tragedy. Asked at an economic forum in Saint Petersburg if the rocket was Russian, Putin said: “Of course not.”

The United States said Friday it stood with the Netherlands and Australia after they blamed Russia for the 2014 shooting down of flight MH17 over war-torn eastern Ukraine.Australia and the Netherlands are moving toward taking legal action to “hold Russia responsible” for its role in the shootdown that killed all 298 people on board.

“We strongly support the decisions by the Netherlands and Australia to call Russia to account,” State Department spokeswoman Heather Nauert said in a statement.“It is time for Russia to acknowledge its role in the shooting down of MH17 and to cease its callous disinformation campaign.”

A top Dutch investigator said his team had concluded that the plane was shot down by a Russian-made BUK missile from a Russian military brigade in Kursk. Most of the dead were Dutch, but there were 17 nationalities, including Australians, on board.