THE HAGUE (Reuters) -International prosecutors said they had found “strong indications” Russian President Vladimir Putin approved the use in Ukraine of a Russian missile system that shot down Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 (MH17) over the east of the country in 2014.

However, they said that evidence of Putin’s and other Russian officials’ involvement was not conclusive enough to lead to a criminal conviction, ending their probe for now.

MH17 was shot down by a Russian BUK missile system as it flew over eastern Ukraine from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur on July 17, 2014, killing all 298 passengers and crew, including 196 Dutch citizens.

“There are strong indications that the Russian president decided on supplying the BUK,” the prosecutors said in a statement on Wednesday.
But prosecutor Digna van Boetzelaer told a news conference in The Hague the investigation had now “reached its limit”.

“The findings are insufficient for prosecuting new suspects,” she said.
The Kremlin, which has repeatedly denied any Russian state involvement, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

In November, a Dutch court convicted two former Russian intelligence agents and a Ukrainian separatist leader of murder for helping arrange the missile system used to shoot the plane down. The men, who were tried in absentia, remain at large.

In the wake of the plane’s destruction, the Netherlands, Australia, Belgium, Ukraine and Malaysia set up a joint investigation team to establish who was responsible and to assemble evidence for criminal prosecutions.