REUTERS

The Russian Defense Ministry has said the serial number of the missile indicates that it was made in the Soviet Union.

Read alsoRussia must be held accountable for MH17 downing – U.S. State Department

"The serial number on the missile engine clearly indicates that it was made in the Soviet Union in 1986. At the same time, the warranty period of this type of anti-aircraft missiles is 15 years," the ministry said, according to the Russian news agency RIA Novosti.

Видео дня

As UNIAN reported earlier, prosecutors investigating the downing of flight MH17 over eastern Ukraine in 2014 said on Thursday they had identified the missile used to shoot down the plane as coming from Russia's armed forces.

On May 25, Australia and the Netherlands formally accused Russia of being responsible for downing a Malaysia Airlines passenger jet in 2014.