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The White House said Friday that early indications were that Russian air defenses brought down a passenger plane that crashed over Kazakhstan, killing 38 people.
White House national security spokesman John Kirby told reporters that the United States has “early indications” that Russia was responsible, but declined to say much more, citing an ongoing investigation.
“We have offered our assistance to this investigation, if they need it,” Kirby added.
The Azerbaijan Airlines flight, an Embraer 190 model plane, was carrying 67 passengers when it crashed on Wednesday near the city of Aktau in southwestern Kazakhstan in the Caspian Sea.
The plane was en route from Baku to the city of Grozny in the Russian republic of Chechnya, a region that has frequently activated air defenses to take out Ukrainian drones amid the war against Kiev.
Kazakhstan is leading an ongoing investigation, but a preliminary report seen by Azerbaijani news site Caliber indicated that a Russian Pantsir-S air defense system shot down the plane.
Azerbaijan Airlines said in a post on the social platform X on Friday that the plane was shot down due to “external physical and technical interference”.
The airline has suspended several flights to certain areas of Russia, including Grozny.
The Kremlin warned against speculation on Thursday and said the investigation was continuing.
Investigators have said an oxygen cylinder exploded on the plane in the passenger cabin, though it’s unclear how it happened.
Russian aviation officials have claimed that a bird strike was responsible for the explosion.
