President Putin has apologized for the “tragic incident” involving an Azerbaijani aircraft that occurred in Russian airspace. He did not specify the cause of the crash.
The plane accident on Christmas Day resulted in the deaths of 38 passengers. The Kremlin confirmed today that anti-aircraft defense was in use against Ukrainian drones at the time of the incident.
The statement did not clarify whether the Azerbaijani aircraft was hit. Russian state media reported that a criminal investigation into the crash has been initiated.
An Azerbaijani minister suggested yesterday that a weapon might have caused the crash, stating that the investigation would reveal “what kind of weapon caused the impact from outside.” U.S. officials considered this a credible scenario but did not take a definitive stance. Azerbaijan Airlines attributed the crash to “external physical and technical influence.” Passengers reported hearing bangs from outside.
Source: NOS