NEW YORK, June 20. /TASS/. It is necessary to wait for the assessments of the Dutch Safety Board that leads the investigation into the Boeing 777-200 crash over the Donetsk region in eastern Ukraine in July 2014, Russian President Vladimir Putin was quoted by Associated Press as saying at a meeting with top executives of the leading global news agencies in the Russian second largest city of St. Petersburg.
The meeting was the last event in Putin’s programme at the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF).
Asked about the air crash in eastern Ukraine, "Putin said it’s necessary to wait for the conclusions of the Dutch Safety Board, which is investigating the crash," AP said.
"Putin referred to an unofficial report alleging that the damage to the Malaysian airline could have been inflicted by a missile launched from the area held by Ukrainian forces at the time," the news agency said.
Reuters, also presented at the meeting, echoed: "Putin says he’s seen evidence the missile might have penetrated the plane’s tail section with a trajectory indicating it came from Ukrainian government forces."
The Boeing 777-200 of the Malaysia Airlines en route from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur crashed on July 17 in Ukraine's eastern Donetsk Region, some 60 km /over 37 miles/ from the Russian border, in the zone of combat operations between the Donetsk self-defence forces and the Ukrainian army. All the passengers and crewmembers aboard the aircraft - 298 people from ten countries - died. Most of the passengers - 196 people - were Dutch citizens.
In early September, the Dutch Safety Board said in its preliminary report that flight MH17 broke up in the air probably as the result of structural damage caused by a large number of high-energy objects that penetrated the aircraft from outside. A surface-to-air or air-to-air missile that allegedly hit the plane is considerd the biggest factor behind the crash.
Kiev authorities and militias of the self-proclaimed Donetsk People’s Republic have blamed each other for the plane downing.
On July 21, 2014 the UN Security Council demanded a thorough and unbiased investigation.
Russia’s Foreign Ministry has repeatedly underscored it is not satisfied with the way such an investigation is carried out.