Footage purporting to show the BUK missile launcher that shot down Malaysia Airlines flight MH17 being spirited back to Russia has emerged.
Captured on a dashboard camera, the film shows a substantial piece of machinery shrouded in khaki tarpaulin, positioned on the back of a military truck.
It was uploaded to YouTube on 19 July and is time stamped 8.45pm.
Footage of a piece of machinery purported to be the missile launcher which shot down MH17 was published on Saturday
A translation of the audio accompanying the footage states: “His opinion [is that it is] exactly that Buk that made the shot,” the Daily Mail writes.
To which the driver reportedly responds: “No kidding.”
The footage, said to show the vehicle travelling over the Ukraine border into Russia, is as yet unverified and some online commenters are already calling it out as fake.
Some says street signs show the vehicle is travelling away from the direction of Russia and others stating the shape of the machinery does not match that of a BUK radar-controlled surface-to-air missile (SAM) system – known in the West as the SA-11 Gadfly.
According to the New York Post, Ukrainian officials have said three SA-111 missile systems – including the one used in Thursday’s attack – have been smuggled out of the country and into Russia since the tragedy, hinting at collaboration between the separatists suspected of carrying out the attack and the Russian government, namely Vladimir Putin.
Speaking on Fox News Sunday, US Secretary of State John Kerry implied much the same, saying: “This is a moment of truth for Russia. Some of the leaders of the separatists are Russians. Russians arm these separatists. Russia trains these separatists.
This footage of a missile launcher being manoeuvred near the crash site on the Russian-Ukrainian border emerged on Friday
“Russia supports these separatists. Russia has refused to call on them publicly to do the things that need to be done.”
On CNN he added: “We know for certain that the separatists have a proficiency that they’ve gained by training from Russians as to how to use these sophisticated SA-11 systems.
“It’s pretty clear that this is a system that was transferred from Russia.”
SEE ALSO:
- target="_hplink">‘British Family Reveal Shock After Narrowly MissingDoomed Flight MH17
- target="_hplink">MH17 Passenger Apparently Took Extraordinary Photo As
He Boarded
target="_hplink">Who Could Have Shot Down Plane?
target="_hplink">Crash Sends Gold Price Soaring In Market
Shock
target="_hplink">Crash Site Revealed In First Graphic
Pictures
- target="_hplink">Ukrainian Airspace Could Be Closed
The film shows a military vehicle said to be equipped with Buk missiles, rolling down a road in Torez, Ukraine, just two hours before the crash.
After the attack, Ukrainian officials posted a separate video of a launcher, now with two rockets believed to be missing being smuggled on the back of a truck to Russia at 4.50am on 18 July.
Though there is not enough information in the video to identify a location, Ukraine’s Interior Minister Arsen Avakov claims that the transportation of a missile launcher was filmed in Krasnodon, a Ukrainian village close to Russia’s border.
Russian Buk air defense missile systems make their way through Red Square during a rehearsal for the Victory Day military parade in Moscow, Russia, 7 May 1013
The Ukrainian minister also noted that at least one of the four Buk missiles seem to be missing from the launcher.
"Criminals are trying to hide the traces of this heinous crime," he wrote in a post on Facebook.
The Buk is designed to destroy tactical and strategic aircraft, helicopters, cruise missiles, and other aircraft.
It can reach targets of up to 72,000ft, according to the HIS Janes global information group.
The type of missile is owned by both Russia and Ukraine.
On Thursday a Malaysia Airlines passenger jet carrying 283 passengers and 15 crew was shot out of the sky on the Russian-Ukrainian border. There were no survivors.