The White House said preliminary evidence suggests that Russia‘s defense systems shot down a commercial flight originating in Azerbaijan. On Christmas Day, the plane, operated by Azerbaijan Airlines,

Azerbaijani Transport Minister Rashad Nabiyev said on Dec. 27 that an Azerbaijan Airlines plane crash in Kazakhstan was due to 'external interference,' with authorities investigating "the type of weapon used in the interference.

Russia's aviation chief said Friday that an Azerbaijani Airlines plane that eventually crashed in Kazakhstan tried to land in the Chechen city of Grozny as it was being attacked by Ukrainian drones."Ukrainian attack drones at this time were making terrorist attacks on civilian infrastructure in the cities of Grozny and Vladikavkaz,