Berlin Denies Germany Knew Flying Over Donbass Risky Before MH17 Crash

Earlier, German media reported that two days before the MH17 crash in Donetsk Region, Germany's Foreign Ministry had issued a confidential report saying that the situation in eastern Ukraine had been "very worrying," but had failed to notify airlines about possible risks.

BERLIN (Sputnik) — The German Foreign Ministry refused to confirm that the country's authorities had been aware of potential risks posed by flying over Ukraine's conflict-torn east before the deadly crash of Malaysian Airlines flight MH17 in July 2014.

"I cannot confirm this," the ministry's spokesman Martin Schaefer told journalists on Monday when asked about the claims.

On July 17, 2014, the Malaysian Airlines passenger plane, en route from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur, crashed near Donetsk killing all 298 people on board.

According to a preliminary report by the Dutch Safety Board, the plane was hit by numerous high-energy objects causing it to break up in mid-air. The final report is expected in October.

The Kiev government and the self-proclaimed republics of Donetsk and Lugansk have repeatedly accused each other of downing the plane.