The US said it has "early indications" that suggest Russian air defenses downed a passenger plane. An Azerbaijan Airlines plane crashed while trying to land after diverting to Kazakhstan, killing 38. Experts pointed to damage to the plane before it landed, suggesting it had been hit by a missile.

Azerbaijan Airlines has suspended several more services to Russian cities after preliminary indications that "external interference" played a role in the fatal loss of an Embraer 190. The aircraft, bound for Grozny as J28243 on 25 December,

An investigation into the deadly crash of an Azerbaijan Airlines flight in Kazakhstan earlier this week came after the passenger plane experienced “physical and technical external interference,” the carrier said Friday.