The White House said preliminary evidence suggests that Russia‘s defense systems shot down a commercial flight originating in Azerbaijan.
On Christmas Day, the plane, operated by Azerbaijan Airlines, was flying from Baku, the capital of Azerbaijan, to Grozny, the capital of Chechnya in Russia, when it crashed. Thirty-eight people were killed, and 29 survived.
“We have seen some early indications that would certainly point to the possibility that this jet was brought down by Russian air defense systems,” National Security Council spokesman John Kirby told reporters on Friday.
Earlier, Azerbaijan Airlines said the plane crashed “due to external physical and technical interference,” according to the investigation’s preliminary findings.
“This is evidenced by the appearance of the plane’s wreckage on the ground and eyewitness testimony,” Azerbaijani Minister of Digital Development and Transport Rashad Nabiyev said, according to Azerbaijani media. “The type of weapon used for the interference will be established by the investigation.”
Russian officials initially claimed the plane went down due to a combination of weather and a collision with a flock of birds. However, visible damage to the tail of the plane, which has been seen in images and video circulating on social media and posted by authorities in Kazakhstan, the location of the crash, indicated the impact of an air-defense missile.
Kirby noted the evidence of Russian interference with the flight went beyond widely circulated images of the wreckage, but he did not provide further details.
Azerbaijan Airlines has since suspended flights to several Russian cities due to “potential risks to flight safety.”
Although no Americans were on board, the U.S. government has offered to assist Kazakh and Azerbaijani officials in the investigation.
Passengers and flight crew reported hearing multiple loud bangs before the plane crashed.
NATO has called for an investigation into the crash. Azerbaijani MP Rasim Musabekov said in an interview with local media that Russia needs to apologize for shooting down a civilian plane.
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“The plane was shot down on Russian territory, in the sky over Grozny. And it is impossible to deny this,” Musabekov said.
“Those who did this should be held criminally liable, compensation for the deaths of people and the victims should be paid,” Musabekov said. “If this does not happen, then the relationship will, of course, shift to a different level.”
