Ukrainian FM Suggests Russia Likely Tried to Conceal Evidence of Downing Azerbaijani Plane

Russia may have attempted to conceal the evidence of the downing of the Azerbaijani aircraft in the sea, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha suggested.

He called for a fair investigation into the plane crash and expressed condolences to Azerbaijan.

“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,“ Sybiha wrote on his official account on X.

According to Sybiha, the growing number of photos and videos from the plane's cabin and the crash site suggest that the damage was caused by a Russian surface-to-air missile system.

Previously, sources within the Azerbaijani government exclusively confirmed to Euronews on Thursday, December 26, that a Russian surface-to-air missile caused the Azerbaijan Airlines plane crash in Aktau, Kazakhstan, on December 25, killing 38 people and leaving 29 survivors injured.

The Azerbaijani Caliber news agency suggested earlier that this recommendation of redirecting the damaged plane to the Kazakh city of Aktau was made with the purpose of ensuring the plane would crash into the Caspian Sea, leaving no survivors or evidence. “However, we emphasize that this is only our assumption,” Caliber noted.