(CLO) Some senior US sources said that initial signs show that Russia's air defense system may be involved in the crash of an Azerbaijan Airlines passenger plane on December 25.
However, officials from Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan and Russia, the three countries involved in the disaster, urged people not to speculate about the crash until the investigation is completed.
Indications are that a Russian system attacked Azerbaijan Airlines Flight J2-8243 before it crashed near Aktau, Kazakhstan, a US official told CNN on Thursday.
Security and rescue forces examine the remains of the crashed plane. Photo: Press service of the Ministry of Emergency Situations of Kazakhstan
This is the first time the US has given an assessment of the passenger plane crash that killed at least 38 of the 67 people on board on Wednesday.
If initial indications are eventually confirmed, it could be a case of mistaken identity, with Russian units attacking the Ukrainian drone at the time, US officials said.
One of the Azerbaijani sources involved in the investigation into the crash told Reuters that preliminary results showed the plane was attacked by a Russian Pantsir-S air defense system. Specifically, the electronic warfare system paralyzed the plane's communication equipment.
"No one claims that this action was carried out intentionally. However, taking into account the established facts, Baku hopes that the Russian side will admit to shooting down the Azerbaijani plane," the Azerbaijani source said.
Map showing the location of the plane crash.
The Azerbaijan Airlines plane crash happened on Christmas, when an Embraer 190 carrying 67 people from Baku (Azerbaijan) to Grozny (Chechnya, Russia) crashed near the city of Aktau (Kazakhstan).
Flight J2-8243 veered hundreds of miles off course from Azerbaijan to Russia and crashed on the other side of the Caspian Sea. Russia's aviation watchdog initially said the crash may have been caused by a bird strike.
Hoang Anh (according to Reuters, CNN, TASS)
Source: https://www.congluan.vn/vu-roi-may-bay-azerbaijan-my-dua-ra-cao-buoc-azerbaijan-kazakhstan-va-nga-noi-khong-nen-suy-doan-post327702.html
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