Ukrainian foreign minister says Russia may have tried to conceal downing of Azerbaijani plan

Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha has suggested that Russia attempted to conceal evidence of the downing of an Azerbaijani passenger plane that crashed near the sea and called for a fair investigation into the crash. He expressed condolences to Azerbaijan.

Source: Sybiha on X (Twitter), as reported by European Pravda 

Quote from Sybiha: "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."

Details: Sybiha emphasised that as more images and videos emerge from onboard the plane and after the disaster, the more evidence is mounting that the plane was damaged by a Russian anti-aircraft missile system.

"We call for a fair and impartial investigation to ensure that those responsible are held to account. We must not let Russia lie, avoid responsibility, or shift blame," the foreign minister added.

Earlier, Putin's press secretary Dmitry Peskov refused to comment on Baku's statement that Russia shot down the Azerbaijan Airlines plane.

Background:

• On 25 December, an Azerbaijan Airlines Embraer aircraft en route from Baku to Grozny crashed near the Kazakh city of Aktau on the Caspian Sea. According to Azerbaijan Airlines, 67 people were on board, including five crew members. Of these, 42 were citizens of Azerbaijan, 16 were Russians, 6 were Kazakhs, and 3 were Kyrgyz nationals.
• KazAeroNavigation believes that the crash was caused by a bird strike and a steering failure. Russian media outlets have not ruled out the possibility that the plane may have changed course due to the threat of a drone attack on Chechnya. Early reports indicate that Grozny was being attacked by several UAVs at the time, which led to the announcement of a Kovyor (Carpet) plan at the city's airport [a Kovyor plan is an operational safety procedure for airport services and personnel when an unidentified object appears in the sky – ed.].
• The crash killed 38 people, said Kazakh Deputy Prime Minister Kanat Bozumbayev, chair of the state commission leading the investigation into the causes of the crash.
• Ukraine’s Center for Countering Disinformation said the plane had been shot down by a Russian anti-aircraft missile system.
• According to Euronews sources, the crash was caused by a Russian surface-to-air missile that exploded nearby.

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