Dutch experts have prepared the final report on the downed Malaysian Boeing

The Dutch Safety Board will publish its final report on why the Malaysian Boeing MH17 crashed in Ukraine in 2014, resulting in the deaths of all 298 people on board.

Preliminary results suggest that the aircraft was shot down by 'an external object of high energy', a surface-to-air missile.

The West and Ukraine believe that the Boeing 777 was shot down by pro-Russian separatists, while Russia accuses Ukraine.

The plane, flying from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur, crashed in eastern Ukraine on July 17, 2014, amidst the conflict between government troops and pro-Russian separatists. Among the victims were 196 Dutch citizens and 10 British nationals.

The Dutch Safety Board is expected to present its findings to the families of the victims and then to the press.

The report will address four main questions:

- What caused the aircraft to break apart in mid-air;- Why was it flying over a conflict zone;- Why some relatives had to wait four days for official confirmation that their loved ones were on board;- To what extent were passengers and crew aware of what was happening in the last moments.

However, the report will not directly address who is responsible for the disaster; therefore, the Safety Board does not have the authority to assign blame, according to the rules governing international investigations. A criminal investigation is still ongoing. Its findings are expected to be published in a few months.

The upcoming report can be seen as more technical. 'Now, finally, we will get answers from an organization that can verify what really happened', experts say.

Prosecutors believe the plane was most likely shot down by a Russian-made 'Buk' air defense system. The Ukrainian government and some Western officials believe that the missile was brought from Russia and launched by rebels in Donbas.

Russia denies the accusations, stating that the plane was shot down by a missile fired by Ukrainian forces or a Ukrainian fighter jet.

In July, Russia vetoed a draft resolution in the UN Security Council that proposed establishing an international tribunal for the MH17 crash.

President Vladimir Putin stated that such a tribunal would be 'premature' and 'counterproductive'.

High-ranking Russian officials have claimed that Dutch investigators are not cooperating with Russian experts in the investigation.

'A series of facts presented by Russia seem to have been disregarded for reasons we do not understand', said Dmitry Peskov, press secretary of President Putin.