Russia’s aviation watchdog said the pilot of the crashed Azerbaijan Airlines plane chose to divert to Kazakhstan after dense fog. Several sources have said Russia’s air defences caused the plane to crash, while the airline has blamed “physical and technical interference”.
Friday 27 December 2024 19:01, UK
A short while ago, we brought you comments from Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, who said there was “clear visual evidence” of Russia’s involvement in the Christmas Day plane crash.
We’ve also now heard from Ukraine’s foreign minister, who accused Russian media of lying about the cause of the deadly crash.
Andrii Sybiha wrote on X: “The Azerbaijan Airlines jet crash is horrific. We express our condolences to Azerbaijan.
“It is noteworthy that Russian media lied about the cause of the crash, and that Russia forced the damaged jet to cross the sea, most likely in an attempt to conceal evidence of their crime.”
He said photos and videos from the plane’s cabin and of the wreckage after the crash were a “smoking gun” suggesting the aircraft had been downed by a Russian anti-aircraft system.
“We call for a fair and impartial investigation to ensure that those responsible are held to account,” he said.
“We must not let Russia lie, avoid responsibility, or shift blame.”
The Kremlin has refused to comment on the crash but said an investigation is ongoing.
Several airlines have suspended flights to Russian cities following the crash on Christmas Day.
The official cause of the crash has not yet been determined, but some reports suggest a Russian air defence system may have hit the aircraft.
The Kremlin has refused to comment pending the outcome of an investigation.
On Christmas Day, flights from Azerbaijan’s capital Baku to the Russian cities of Grozy and Makhachkala were suspended.
Azerbaijan Airlines said today it would also halt services to eight more Russian cities.
The company will continue to operate flights to six Russian cities, including Moscow and St Petersburg.
Kazakhstan’s Qazaq Air said today it is suspending flights from Astana to the Russian city of Yekaterinburg in the Ural Mountains for a month.
FlyDubai also halted flights to Sochi and Mineralnye Vody in southern Russia until 5 January.
Israel’s El Al carrier yesterday said it was halting flights from Tel Aviv to Moscow, citing “developments in Russia’s airspace”.
It said it would reassess the situation next week.
Volodymyr Zelenskyy has said the evidence points to Russia’s involvement in the crashing of the Azerbaijan Airlines flight on Christmas Day.
The Ukrainian president shared his condolences for Azerbaijan following the “horrific” crash, writing on X: “Every human life is valuable, and every loss of life deserves a thorough investigation to establish the truth.
“We can see how the clear visual evidence at the crash site points to Russia’s responsibility for the tragedy.”
He also called for “international pressure” on Moscow to “establish the truth and ensure accountability”.
Mr Zelenskyy said Russia had “spread lies” in the case of MH17, a Malaysia Airlines flight that was shot down by Russian-backed forces while flying over eastern Ukraine.
All 283 passengers and 15 crew on board that flight were killed.
Russia claimed two more villages in eastern Ukraine earlier today, which we reported at 10.31, and analysts believe it may have also seized the key city of Kurakhove.
Moscow’s forces have been focusing significant resources in the direction of Kurakhove, with the Institute for the Study of War think tank noting Russia has reportedly concentrated around 35,000 troops there in recent months.
After likely suffering “significant casualties and armoured vehicle losses”, the US-based ISW said Russian troops have probably seized the city, which is in the Pokrovsk region.
More reaction now from Azerbaijan, after reports indicated a Russia strike could have been behind the Christmas Day plane crash.
Rashad Nabiyev, Azerbaijan’s minister of digital development and transportation, pointed to survivors’ accounts and said these appeared to suggest the plane had an outside impact while flying over Grozny, where it was due to land.
Survivors have reported hearing loud bangs as the Azerbaijan Airlines flight neared its destination in southern Russia.
Speaking to Azerbaijani media, he added “the type of weapon used in the impact from outside will be determined to investigators”.
Authorities in Azerbaijan have otherwise been tight-lipped about a possible cause pending an official investigation.
Flight tracking site FlightRadar24 has said the Azerbaijan Airlines flight faced “strong GPS jamming” that interfered with tracking data.
The plane crashed near Aktau in Kazakhstan on Christmas Day while attempting an emergency landing.
In an online post, FlightRadar24 said data and footage of the crash indicate “possible control issues with the aircraft”.
It said the flight departed Baku at 3.55am local time, with valid flight tracking data available until 4.25am when the flight “encountered significant GPS interference”.
“The aircraft stopped sending positional data altogether for the period between 04:25 and 04:37,” FlightRadar24 said.
“Between 04:37 and 04:40 the aircraft sent likely erroneous position data.”
There was no data from the aircraft between 4.40am and 5.03am, and a second gap occurred between 5.04am and 5.13am.
Russia has extensively used sophisticated jamming equipment to fend off drone attacks.
The country’s aviation chief has said that as the plane was preparing to land in Grozny in deep fog, Ukrainian drones were targeting the city – prompting authorities to close the area to air traffic.
We’ve just been hearing from the White House, which says early indications “point to the possibility” the Azerbaijan Airlines jet was brought down by a Russian air defence system.
This possibility has also been raised by experts talking to Reuters news agency.
The White House said it has offered assistance to the investigation into the crash.
Separately, White House spokesperson John Kirby also commented on Russia’s use of North Korean troops in Ukraine.
He said North Korean forces are experiencing mass casualties on the front lines, with a thousand killed or wounded in the last week alone in the Kursk region of Russia.
“It is clear that Russian and North Korean military leaders are treating these troops as expendable and ordering them on hopeless assaults against Ukrainian defenses,” Kirby said, describing the North Korean troops’ offensive as “massed, dismounted assaults”.
Kirby added President Joe Biden would likely approve another security assistance package for Ukraine in the coming days.
Survivors have been coming forward with their accounts from the Azerbaijan Airlines plane that crashed on Christmas Day.
We reported earlier that some described hearing loud bangs outside the plane – see our 14.25 post.
Passenger Vafa Shabanova and flight attendant Zulfugar Asadov spoke to Reuters news agency, which has shared their pictures as they’re treated at a hospital in Baku, the Azerbaijani capital.
Footage has emerged appearing to show holes in the tail section of the crashed Azerbaijan Airlines plane.
The cause of the crash has not been officially determined yet, but reports suggest the plane may have been hit by Russian air defences.
The Kremlin has not commented on the crash and said it would be “wrong to make hypotheses” before the investigation has concluded.
New video claimed to be Russian propaganda shows Father Christmas being shot out of the sky, while bringing rockets with NATO branding to the country.
“Good, we don’t need anything foreign in our skies,” says an alternative Father Christmas, dressed in navy and turquoise rather than the red traditionally seen in the West as he watches his apparent rival blown up over Moscow.
It shows a Christmas market in the Russian capital with the Spasskaya Tower, in the Kremlin, visible in the background in the first few seconds of the video.
A Ukrainian journalist says the video – shared by the country’s Center for Countering Disinformation – came after the Azerbaijan Airlines plane crashed while en route to Russia, with sources indicating it was shot down by air defences.
Russian officials have not publicly commented on the video, which began circulating online today and has been posted in some pro-Kremlin channels on Telegram. It is unclear where it was first shared.
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