Flight MH17 pierced by 'objects'

Flight MH17 was likely downed by "high-energy objects from outside the aircraft", the preliminary report from the Dutch Safety Board says.

The report published on Tuesday by the Dutch Safety Board (DSB) stopped short of saying the Boeing 777 was shot down by a surface-to-air missile, but its findings appear to point to that conclusion.

The Boeing 777 was blown out of the sky on July 17 over rebel-held territory in eastern Ukraine, killing all 298 passengers and crew on board, including 38 Australian citizens and residents.

The Malaysia Airlines plane "split into pieces during flight", the report says.