AUSTRALIA has imposed financial sanctions on the makers of the BUK missile believed responsible for downing flight MH17 over east Ukraine, killing 38 Australians.

The Daily Telegraph has learned the Russian parent company Almaz-Antey has been targeted in a new round of financial sanctions announced by Prime Minister Tony Abbott, who yesterday stepped up pressure on the Kremlin, describing its intervention in the Ukraine as an “invasion”.

The former Soviet military research company that is one of the world’s largest weapons manufacturers is the supplier to the Russian military of the BUK anti-aircraft missile system which is believed to have brought down the Malaysian Airlines flight on July 17.

The BUK missiles are still also being used by Syria and North Korea.

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media_camera A BUK missile system / picture: Supplied

The move by Australia to target the company is seen as largely symbolic but sources said similar sanctions by European countries would be viewed as a further tightening of the net around the Russian military machine.

Australian Trade Minister Andrew Robb yesterday said that the sanctions against Russia would not have an impact on access to the crash site, with officials confident that all human remains had been recovered from the war-torn region.

“They feel they have recovered all of the human remains that could be recovered,” Mr Robb said.

“The process at the moment is to obviously, as quickly as possible, identify the remains they have been able to get from the crash site.”

Almaz-Antey has annual revenues of more than $8 billion and is also involved with the development of the Russian ballistic missile defence system. It still continues to sell the BUK missile systems around the world — often to regimes known for their brutality and oppression.

media_camera Prime Minister Tony Abbott / Picture: Gary Ramage

Mr Abbott announced a new round of sanctions against Russia on Monday as Moscow continued its military intervention in the Ukraine, which the West has described as a violation of Ukrainian sovereignty.

The Australian sanctions included a travel ban on 64 more Russian parliamentarians and officials, including Russian President Vladimir Putin’s top presidential aide.

“Russia has been playing its nasty games in Ukraine for months now,” Mr Abbott said yesterday.

“In the last few days they’ve come out into the open. They are now openly violating the sovereignty of Ukraine.

“They have their own troops and heavy weaponry in Ukraine. “It is an invasion — let’s call it for what it is ——it is an invasion of Ukraine and it’s utterly reprehensible.

“It is absolutely, utterly unacceptable for large countries to bully small countries, for any country to act in the affairs of the world as if simply might is right. It’s just wrong what’s happening

Originally published as Abbott targets MH17 missile firm