(Bloomberg) -- The Dutch-led criminal investigation teamconducting a probe into the downing of Malaysia Airlinesflight MH17 in eastern Ukraine last year said it is examining partsthat could be from a Buk surface-to-air-missile system, followingallegations that a missile caused the disaster.

“The parts are of particular interest to the criminalinvestigation as they can possibly provide more information aboutwho was involved in the crash of MH17,” the Dutch publicprosecutor’s office said in a statement Tuesday. No conclusions canyet be drawn as to whether there is a causal connection between thediscovered parts and MH17, it also said.

The Boeing Co. 777 was carrying 283 passengers and 15 crew whenit came down on July 17, 2014 while traveling over the conflictzone in eastern Ukraine en route from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur.The plane broke up in the air, most likely as a result ofstructural damage after being penetrated from the outside by “alarge number of high-energy objects,” the Dutch Safety Board saidSept. 9.

The possible Buk missile parts were secured during a previousrecovery mission in eastern Ukraine, the public prosecutor’s officesaid, adding that the help of analysts including forensicspecialists and weapon experts will be enlisted internationally.The investigators are conducting the probe of the parts incooperation with the Dutch Safety Board, which is scheduled topublish a separate report on the crash in October.

‘Terrorist Attack’

The U.S. and other countries accuse pro-Russian separatists inUkraine of shooting down the airliner using a Buk missile suppliedby Russia, which has denied any involvement and suggested theUkrainian army may have downed the plane.

Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko pointed the finger atRussian leader Vladimir Putin on the anniversary of the crash lastmonth, calling it a “ruthless terrorist attack” by separatists that“would not have happened without participation, without a directorder from the highest political and military leadership of theneighboring state.”

Russia vetoed a United Nations Security Council resolution onJuly 29 to create an international tribunal to try those suspectedof downing the plane. Malaysian Transport Minister Liow Tiong Laisaid that his country drafted the resolution to ensure theinvestigation is “as depoliticized as possible,” while Russia’s UNAmbassador Vitaly Churkin called the initiative “premature,counterproductive and legally unsound.”

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