NIEUWEGEIN, Netherlands (AFP) – The missile that downed flight MH17 over eastern Ukraine was transported from Russia, a criminal inquiry revealed yesterday, as it announced that about 100 people were being investigated for playing “an active role” in the disaster.

Saying they had “irrefutable evidence” that the BUK missile system was used to blow the Malaysia Airlines plane out of the sky, investigators also for the first time pinpointed that the device was fired from a field in a part of eastern Ukraine then controlled by pro-Russia separatists.

The findings of the Dutch-led probe stopped short of directly accusing Moscow of involvement in the tragedy in July 2014, and both the rebels and Russia issued fresh statements denying any responsibility.

But the new details appeared to back up long-standing accusations from Ukraine and the West that pro-Russian rebels were to blame using a missile which may have been provided by Moscow.

The Boeing 777 was ripped apart mid-air during a flight from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur over Ukraine, where a war pitting separatists allegedly armed by Russia against the Kiev government erupted in April 2014.

All 298 people on board the plane including 196 Dutch citizens were killed.

But despite two official international investigations, the burning question of who gave the orders and who pulled the trigger remain unresolved.

Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko hailed the inquiry’s initial findings saying: “We have solid proof of who is to blame for this dreadful crime and who bears full responsibility for the terrorist attack.”