Moscow, Russia—The Russian government has accused the Ukrainian security forces of being the perpetrators behind the downing of Malaysia Airlines flight MH17.

On July 2014, Malaysia Airlines flight MH17 from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur was shot down by a missile in Ukrainian airspace. All 298 passengers died. The majority were Dutch citizens, but other nationalities were also on the casualty list.

Immediately, suspicions fell upon Russia and the Russian-backed rebels of the Donetsk People’s Republic, who both denied any knowledge. However, the chief Dutch investigator at first said that the missile was fired by a Russian military unit in the proximity of Kursk, which is very close to the Russo-Ukrainian border. Further evidence, however, indicated that missile was fired from eastern Ukraine. In response, the European Union imposed economic sanctions on Russia. Last May, Australia and the Netherlands directly named the Russian government as responsible.

But now, the Russian government has released new evidence that supports the contrary. The country’s defence ministry has published the missile’s serial number. The number indicates that the BUK missile responsible for the tragedy was shipped to Ukraine before the collapse of the Soviet Union. The Russian spokesperson stated that the missile was never returned to Russia.