Chilling animation shows how MH17 was shot down with a Buk surface-to-air missile

Two years ago today, on July 17, 2014, 298 civilians from 11 countries perished when Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 was shot down over eastern Ukraine.

The Dutch Safety Board concluded in its October 2015 final report that MH17, traveling from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur, was hit by a Buk surface-to-air missile fired from territory controlled by Russian-backed separatist forces in eastern Ukraine.

"No scenario other than a Buk surface-to-air missile can explain this combination of facts," the report said.

Reuters/ Maxim Zmeyev

A pro-Russian separatist stands at the crash site of Malaysia Airlines flight MH17, near the settlement of Grabovo in the Donetsk region

"It was a Buk missile that hit the left upper part of the cockpit," a visibly shaken relative, Robby Oehlers, told reporters, just after being briefed by Dutch officials in The Hague, the AFP reports.

The warhead, fired from rebel-held eastern Ukraine, detonated to the left side and slightly above the cockpit, as shown in a video re-creation from the Dutch Safety Board. 

Onderzoeksraad voor Veiligheid/Amanda Macias/Business Insider

"Wreckage from the airplane was distributed over various sites within an area of 50 square kilometers. All 298 occupants were killed."

Onderzoeksraad voor Veiligheid

Here is the full video via the Dutch Safety Board (and here is the full report):