US Official: Azerbaijani Aircraft Possibly Shot Down Mistaken for Russian Plane

Regarding the Azerbaijan passenger plane crash in Kazakhstan that killed 38 people, a U.S. government official suggested the possibility that it was mistakenly shot down by a Russian air defense system, CNN reported on the 26th (local time).

The U.S. official stated that there were signs the Russian air defense system had attacked before the passenger plane crashed. If this information is ultimately confirmed to be true, it would be because inadequately trained Russian troops responded carelessly to a Ukrainian drone attack.

Experts are examining the crash site of an Azerbaijani passenger plane near Aktau, Kazakhstan. Photo by AFP Yonhap News

The day before, an Azerbaijan Airlines passenger plane traveling from Baku, the capital of Azerbaijan, to Grozny, Russia, crashed near Aktau city in western Kazakhstan. The accident resulted in 38 deaths out of 67 passengers on board. After the crash, videos and images of the plane showed holes in the fuselage. CNN reported that the cause of the holes has not been confirmed.

This crash occurred shortly after Ukraine launched a drone attack on southern Russia. Initially, a possible cause of the crash was considered to be a collision between the passenger plane and a flock of birds.

Andriy Kovalenko, head of Ukraine’s Center for Countering Disinformation under the National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine, also claimed on social media that the passenger plane was shot down by a Russian air defense system.

According to the Wall Street Journal (WSJ), aviation security company Osprey Flight Solutions stated that based on crash footage, aircraft damage, and recent military activity, it is highly likely that the aircraft was shot down by a Russian military air defense system.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.