International prosecutors say they found 'strong indications' President Vladimir Putin approved the Russian missile system which shot down the plane but that there was not enough evidence for a criminal conviction.

The Russian foreign ministry accuses the joint investigation team set up to establish who was responsible of being 'politicised'.

Russia says it cannot accept the results of the investigation since it took no part in the process.

Russia has denied any involvement and dismissed last year's court verdict as 'scandalous' and politically motivated.

But there is no realistic prospect of prosecuting him or others, investigators say.

Investigators could identify either the crew that manned the missile system, or higher-up Russian military or political officials who approved its transfer in and out of Ukraine.

The findings are expected to deal with their research into who actually fired the missile that shot down the plane over eastern Ukraine in 2014, and who originally supplied the Russian-made projectile.

Oleg Pulatov was found not guilty by a Dutch court on Nov 17 while Russians Igor Girkin and Sergei Dubinsky and Ukrainian Leonid Kharchenko were convicted and sentenced to life in absentia.

Ukraine welcomes the ruling, which will have implications for other court cases Kyiv has filed against Russia.

Moscow denies any involvement or responsibility for MH17's downing and in 2014 it also denied any presence in Ukraine.

Russians Igor Girkin, Sergei Dubinsky, Oleg Pulatov and Ukrainian citizen Leonid Kharchenko, who have refused to attend the trial, face a life sentence if convicted on charges of murder and causing an aircraft to crash.

The court has said a verdict is not expected until November 2022 at the earliest.