"A plane crashed after being hit by a Russian missile"...Azerbaijan Preliminary Survey Conclusions

U.S. officials say there are signs of a Russian air defense attack on the plane.
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[Anchor]
Claims that the plane crash in Kazakhstan, which killed 38 people, was caused by Russian missiles are gaining traction.

The Azerbaijani government, which is investigating the cause of the accident, has released preliminary findings that the plane crashed after being hit by a Russian missile.

Reporter Kim Jandi's report.

[Reporter]
There are several large holes throughout the sides and tails of the plane that crashed in Aktau, Kazakhstan.

These are holes suspected of being hit by an anti-aircraft weapon by its even size, shape and pattern.

[Yan Matviev / Russian military expert: From all accounts, it appears that the tail of the plane was actually damaged by missile debris, possibly the Pansir S-1 missile, or some air defense system]

[Ann Marie Daly / Former Pentagon international security adviser] (photo of damage to the tail of the plane) it appeared likely that the damage was caused by the air defense system. This is because the debris pattern was consistent with what was shot down by a surface-to-air missile.]

Reuters quoted U.S. officials as saying that initial investigations showed signs that Russia's air defenses attacked the plane.

The official said if the information proves true, it would serve as an opportunity to highlight the recklessness of Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

Ukraine has also claimed the shooting down of Russia.

This is because the sky over Russia's North Caucasus, which was the route of the aircraft, has been the target of Ukrainian drone attacks in recent weeks.

The Wall Street Journal and other foreign media also weighed in on the possibility of the Russian military's misidentification.

A missile launched to shoot down a drone over Grozny, Russia, exploded near an airliner, and debris hit passengers and crew members.

At that time, there were reports that the plane's captain asked the Russian airport to make an emergency landing, but was rejected and ordered to move to western Kazakhstan.

When asked about the shooting down theory, the Russian side avoided answering, saying it was not correct to present a hypothesis before the results of the investigation were released.

The Azerbaijani government is conducting further investigations based on black boxes and others after a preliminary investigation concluded that the crashed plane had been hit by Russian anti-aircraft missiles or their fragments.

I'm Kim Jandi from YTN.

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video: Lim Hyun-chul