Hilse-Reijen (Netherlands). May 26. INTERFAX-UKRAINE-The head of the investigation team in the case of the downed Malaysian Airlines flight MH17 in 2014 in the sky over the Donbass, Digna van Butzelar, said that the investigation is currently working to identify those who ordered the delivery of the Buk anti-aircraft missile system (SAM) to Ukraine and those who directly "pressed the button".
"The investigation is ongoing. Now the focus is on those who pressed the button, as well as the higher link - who was responsible for the fact that the Buk was delivered to Ukraine. This is a very complex investigation. This (the investigation that resulted in the charges against Oleg Pulatov, Igor Girkin (Strelkov), Sergei Dubinsky and Leonid Kharchenko) was quite complex, but the one that is being conducted now is even more complex, " van Butzelar told Interfax-Ukraine on Wednesday at the Hilze-Reye military air base as part of a visiting court session that was held to inspect the reconstruction of the downed MH17.
When asked if there were any new suspects, van Butzelaar said: "I can't talk about suspects. When we are ready, we will say so. Now we are working."
Similarly, the head of the investigation team answered the question whether the persons in whom the investigation is interested: "The answer is the same - we are investigating, and while there is an investigation, we will not say what is of interest to us."
Speaking about the time frame of the investigation, van Butzelaar said that the investigation will continue as long as there is progress in the case.
"We are working on this as long as we make progress. And we are still making progress - small steps, but we are still moving forward. Of course, there may come a time when we will have to stop, but as of now, we are moving forward. Yes, we have made progress in the investigation, " she said.
The trial in the case of the downed MH17 began on March 9, 2020.
The Malaysia Airlines Boeing-777, operating flight MH17 Amsterdam (Netherlands) - Kuala Lumpur (Malaysia), was shot down in the sky over the Donetsk region on July 17, 2014, at a time when there was an active phase of the armed conflict. All 298 people on board were killed. Two-thirds of the passengers are Dutch nationals.
The investigation of the causes of the crash is being conducted by an International Investigation Team (SSG), which includes representatives of law enforcement agencies of Ukraine, the Netherlands, Belgium, Australia and Malaysia.
