London: The criminal investigation into the crash of Malaysia Airlines flight MH17 has pinpointed the exact launch site of the missile that brought it down, a source close to the investigation says.

The Joint Investigation Team, including experts from Australia, Malaysia, the Netherlands and Ukraine, has gathered evidence of the launch site of a standard that could be presented in a potential criminal trial.

The results of their investigation will be made public next Tuesday, first of all to the families and loved ones of the 298 people killed in the July 2014 crash, then in a media conference.

The investigators are also expected to identify the weapon used to shoot down the plane - however they are not expected to identify who launched the missile.