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.

The U.S. government suggested Friday that Russia may be to blame for this week’s deadly Azerbaijan Airlines crash, echoing experts’ assessment of the tragedy as investigations remain ongoing. Azerbaijan Airlines Flight 8243 was scheduled to travel from Baku,

Azerbaijan Airlines, the carrier of the passenger jet that crashed in Kazakhstan on Christmas Day, said preliminary investigations have found the disaster occurred “as a result of physical and technical external interference,