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Russian Defense Minister Points Finger at Ukraine for Deadly MH17 Crash

A man waves as he rides a bicycle past a large piece of wreckage of the downed Malaysia Airlines Flight MH17, near the village of Hrabove in eastern Ukraine. Marko Djurica / Reuters

Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu has blamed Ukraine for the downing of the Malaysian airliner in eastern Ukraine.

Shoigu was quoted as saying on Wednesday the tragedy would never have happened if Kiev had not taken up arms.

"The catastrophe happened in the air space belonging to Ukraine, which bears full responsibility for what happened," he was quoted as saying by Interfax news agency.

A report by the Dutch Safety Board said on Tuesday the Malaysian Airlines flight MH17 broke apart over Ukraine due to the impact from a large number of fragments.

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