Malaysia Airlines MH17: Russia Defence Minister Says Ukraine 'Bears Full Responsibility' for Aircraft's Crash

Russian Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu has said that Ukraine "bears full responsibility" for the crash of Malaysia Airlines flight MH17.

"The accident occurred in the airspace of Ukraine, which bears full responsibility for what happened," he told Russian news agency ITAR-TASS.

He added that if Ukraine had attempted to solve its internal problems without the use of arms against the rebels, the tragedy of MH17 would never have happened.

A Dutch report released this week on the crash said that the aircraft broke up in mid-air after being struck by "objects" that "pierced the plane at high velocity".

The crash, in July, killed all 298 people on board and most passengers were of Dutch nationality. Reports after the crash suggested that the plane was shot down by Russian-backed separatists with a Buk missile. The separatists have denied any involvement.

The Dutch experts say the plane "broke up in the air probably as the result of structural damage caused by a large number of high-velocity objects that penetrated the aircraft from outside".

Russia has countered Ukrainian accusation by saying that the flight crashed in Ukrainian territory and therefore Kiev was responsible for its safety.

The Russian claim comes after Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko said that an agreement with pro-Russian rebels and Russia, signed in Minsk last week, maintains the concept of a united Ukraine within its current borders, despite separatist claims of independence.

"The protocol (signed in Minsk last Friday) envisages the restoration and preservation of Ukrainian sovereignty on all the territory of the Donbass (in eastern Ukraine), including that controlled by the fighters," he said.

He added that the agreed ceasefire between Kiev's forces and the separatists in the eastern Ukrainian regions of Luhansk and Donetsk was proving a challenge to uphold as "terrorists are trying all the time to provoke" Ukrainian forces.

The West is accusing Russia of arming and training rebels in Ukraine's restive eastern regions, a claim which Moscow denies.

UN agencies estimate more than 2,600 people have been killed in the fighting between pro-Russian separatists and the Ukrainian military since April.