Leaked photos of MH17, munition fragment surface

Photos taken in a secure area of the wreckage of Malaysia Airlines flight 17 surfaced today on Ukrainian website Censor.net.ua. The photos show parts of the aircraft not yet meant to be seen by the public or journalists, like the cockpit, the Dutch Safety Board confirmed to The Post Online.

The leaked images also include a photo of a metal fragment the Ukrainian site claims is part of a Buk-M1-2 missile extracted from the plane. The site claims the fragment is a sub-ammunition and is part of the missile’s warhead. It is not known where that photo was taken, and NL Times has decided not to publish it directly. Last week, a Russian military expert accused Russian-armed militants of shooting down the plane with a missile. Images from the airplane were taken at a hangar in Gilze-Rijen, where a team of Dutch experts is working with an international joint investigative team (JIT). Recently, journalists and surviving family members were allowed to tour much of the wreckage in the Netherlands. "One of Ukraine's friends in the Netherlands, who sincerely supports Ukraine's struggle for independence and is deeply concerned with killings of thousands of innocent people, was also invited to the tour,” the Ukrainian site wrote. “This person provided Censor.NET with exclusive images from the hangar and pictures of submunitions of the Buk-M1-2, which are involved in the criminal proceeding.”

“Were there rules violated with the leak of these photos, and if so what?” MP Pieter Omtzigt (CDA) said to Dutch website The Post Online. “What are the consequences for the cooperation with the JIT? What measures will be taken to ensure that no damage is done to the investigation?” Malaysia Airlines MH17 took off from Amsterdam on July 17, heading for Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. The flight crashed in the eastern Ukraine conflict region, killing all 298 onboard. The plane was believed to be shot down from a surface-to-air missile.