The wreckage of MH17 was painstakingly reassembled in the Netherlands and later examined as part of the trial
There are strong indications that Russian President Vladimir Putin decided to supply the missile that downed flight MH17 in 2014, international investigators said.
The passenger plane was hit by a Russian-made missile over Ukraine, killing nearly 300 people.
Prosecutors said there was evidence that Mr Putin had decided to provide heavy weapons to Moscow-backed separatists.
There is no suggestion that Mr Putin ordered the plane to be shot down.
Moscow – which denies all involvement in the downing of the plane – dismissed the verdicts as “scandalous” and politically motivated.
The international team, charged with tracking down those responsible for the missile launch, said on Wednesday that it had exhausted all leads and could no longer pursue any criminal proceedings.
The Boeing 777 was flying from the Dutch capital to Kuala Lumpur when it was hit by a Russian-made surface-to-air missile in July 2014 during the conflict between pro-Russia rebels and Ukrainian forces in Donbas. region of Ukraine.
Of the 298 passengers and crew, 196 were Dutch while many of the other passengers were from Malaysia, Australia, UK, Belgium and other countries.
The Joint Investigation Team cited a Dutch court that last year ruled that Moscow had “total control” over the Donetsk People’s Republic, which took control of the area in July 2014.
It described recorded phone conversations in which Russian officials said the decision to provide military support “is up to the President”.
“There is concrete information that the separatists’ request was presented to the president, and this request was granted,” it said.
But it added that it was not known whether the request “clearly referred” to the system used to shoot down MH17.
“Although we are talking about strong indications, the high bar of complete and conclusive evidence has not been met,” said the investigators.
“Furthermore, the President enjoys the immunity of his position as Head of State.”
The Joint Investigation Team is made up of members from the Netherlands, Australia, Belgium, Malaysia and Ukraine – the countries most affected by the shooting down of MH17.
The team wants to verify the identities of the missile’s crew, and who is in the chain of command, but admits it is not possible at the moment.
Prosecutor General of Ukraine Andriy Kostin said: “We will seek to use all existing international legal mechanisms to bring [Mr Putin] of justice” in MH17.
Piet Ploeg lost his brother, his brother’s wife, and nephew in MH17. He said he was pleased that prosecutors had outlined their evidence of Mr Putin’s involvement.
“All the news we’ve heard about Putin and his personal involvement in the downing of MH17 – the acceleration of heavy weapons, the fact that he personally decided to surrender the heavy arms .. .the BBC.
“He cannot be prosecuted because he is a head of state, but the world knows.”
Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte said it was a “bitter disappointment” that there was not enough evidence to warrant further prosecutions.
But he added that the announcement of the international team does not mean that the criminal justice process has ended.
“Since 2014, we have become very familiar with the pattern of obstruction, lies and injustice from Russia and its president, Putin. We will continue to call on the Russian Federation to account for its role in this tragedy,” said Mr. Rutte.
