Russian air defenses may have hit Azerbaijan plane —US official

WASHINGTON — A US official said Thursday that early indications suggest a Russian anti-aircraft system struck an Azerbaijan Airlines plane that crashed in Kazakhstan, killing 38 people.

The comments by the US official, speaking on condition of anonymity, came after media reports that Azerbaijani authorities believe a Russian surface-to-air missile caused Wednesday's crash of the passenger jet traveling from the Azeri capital Baku to Grozny in Chechnya, southern Russia.

The official said that if the indications prove true, they would underscore what the US describes as Russian recklessness in its 2022 invasion of Ukraine.

Ukrainian drone strikes have targeted Chechnya in recent weeks, and there was reported drone activity in the nearby Russian regions of Ingushetia and North Ossetia before the crash.

The Kremlin earlier Thursday cautioned against "hypotheses" over the crash. — Agence France-Presse