Russian President Putin says 'of course' Russian rocket did not shoot down flight MH17

Russian President Vladimir Putin said the rocket that shot down flight MH17 over war-torn eastern Ukraine in 2014 was "of course" not Russian, dismissing the Dutch and Australian decision to blame Moscow for the tragedy. The Russian president was speaking at an economic forum in Saint Petersburg. 

The Netherlands and Australia took the first step towards dragging Russia to court over the shooting down of the flight, accusing Moscow of being responsible for the disaster. The European Union and NATO



have also urged Russia to take responsibility for the incident.

The move won swift support from international allies, a day after investigators concluded that the Russian-made BUK missile which tore apart the Boeing 777 passenger plane in mid-air on July 17, 2014, came from a Russian military brigade based in the southwestern city of Kursk. 

All 298 people on the flight en route from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur were killed.