Dutch report: Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 downed by 'high-energy objects' from Russia or eastern Ukraine

Dutch report: Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 downed by &#039;high-energy objects&#039; from Russia or eastern Ukraine

(Image credit: Rob Stothard/Getty Images)

last updated 8 January 2015

Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 was downed by more than one "high-energy objects from outside the aircraft," and the points of impact — the cockpit and front fuselage — strongly suggest that the objects came from eastern Ukraine or western Russia, Dutch investigators reported on Tuesday. This preliminary report doesn't explicitly point fingers, but it bolsters the leading theory that pro-Russian separatists, armed by Moscow, shot down the passenger flight, possibly mistaking it for a Ukrainian military jet.

The Amsterdam-to-Kuala Lampur flight was brought down on July 17 over separatist-held territory, killing all 298 people on board. The Dutch investigators ruled out pilot error or mechanical failure. The report is based on data from the plane's flight recorders, photos and video evidence of the crash site, and information from military satellites and radar. The Dutch team will continue analyzing the evidence, and plan to publish their final report next summer.

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Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.