Russia military call into question objectivity of MH17 crash probe

Flowers and mementos left by local residents at the crash site of Malaysia Airlines Flight MH17 are pictured near the settlement of Rozspyne in the Donetsk region July 19, 2014. REUTERS/Maxim Zmeyev/Files

MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russia's Defence Ministry said the objectivity of the findings of an international investigation into the shooting down of a Malaysian airliner in eastern Ukraine were causing doubts, being based mainly on the Internet and Ukraine's secret services. No Russian air defence systems ever crossed into Ukraine from Russia, ministry spokesman Igor Konashenkov said in a statement on Wednesday. The airliner was hit by a Russian-made Buk missile launched from a village held by pro-Moscow rebels fighting Ukrainian government forces, the investigating team reported earlier on Wednesday. All 298 people on board, most of them Dutch, were killed. (Reporting by Lidia Kelly; Writing by Dmitry Solovyov; Editing by Maria Kiselyova)