The Ukrainian army controlled that part of the Donbass from which the missile was fired that shot down the Malaysian Boeing MH17 in the summer of 2014.
This was stated by the representative of Russia in the European Court of Human Rights Mikhail Vinogradov, reports RIA Novosti. He spoke at the European Court of Human Rights, which in Strasbourg began considering complaints from the Netherlands and Ukraine against the Russian Federation.
Vinogradov stressed that the Russian side is following the process of the trial in the District Court of The Hague. Expert Mikhail Malyshevsky then said that the alleged missile launch site was located on the territory that was under the control of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. In addition, the warhead itself belongs to the Kiev troops.
He also noted that before the plane crash, the Ukrainian Armed Forces regularly conducted artillery shelling and air strikes. During active hostilities, the Ukrainian side managed to shoot down 15 of its own military aircraft and helicopters.