You're reading: Ukraine military denies claims Malaysian Boeing was shot down with captured Ukrainian missile system

The Ukrainian Defense Ministry has denied media reports claiming, with reference to the German magazine Spiegel, that the Malaysian airliner flying over Donetsk region on July 17, 2014, could have been shot down with a Buk missile system which the militia had reportedly captured from a Ukrainian military unit.

“In this connection the command of the Ukrainian Air Force is authorized to state that reports that a Buk M1 surface-to-air missile system had been captured from a Ukrainian military unit are not true,” says a statement posted on the Ukrainian Defense Ministry’s Web site on Monday.

It says that the missile regiment’s personnel, hardware and weaponry, located in Donetsk region, had been urgently moved to a new position back on June 29, 2014, to fulfill tasks assigned by the Air Force commander.

The Defense Ministry also said that the militia had entered the unit’s control premises “only to find outdated motor vehicles unfit for use.”

Media reports said earlier, citing Spiegel, that the German federal intelligence service BND had blamed the militia for the crash of the Malaysian Boeing, who had reportedly launched a Buk missile at the plane.

The BND prepared a detailed report on the incident, which was presented by BND chief Gerhard Schindler on October 8, supported by documents, including satellite data and images.

The BND claimed that the militia had used a Buk system seized from a Ukrainian military base.

A Malaysia Airlines MH17 Boeing flying from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur was downed in eastern Ukraine on July 17, killing all 298 people aboard.