Kremlin Warns Against Speculation That Russia Caused Fatal Azerbaijan Airlines Crash

What Happened?

Officials in Moscow have issued warnings Thursday against potential speculation that Russia caused the crash of an Azerbaijan Airlines plane that killed 38 people.

Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov told TASS reporters, 'It would be wrong to build any hypotheses before the panel of inquiry presents its conclusions.'

The incident happened Wednesday after the plane carrying 67 people from Azerbaijan went down in an area where Russia has reportedly activated air defense to take out Ukrainian drones in the war against Kyiv.

The Embraer 190 passenger plane was headed to the city of Grozny in the Russian republic of Chechnya before it crashed in southwestern Kazakhstan’s city of Aktau on the Caspian Sea.

Among the survivors were 29 passengers including two children who were reportedly pulled from the wreckage as 11 were in critical condition.

Why it Matters

A preliminary investigation suggests that the E190 was downed by a Pantsir-S Russian air defense system, alleging Russia also used electronic warfare to disable the plane on the radar.

The Azerbaijani news outlet Caliber also reported that Russian air defense systems were activated to take out Ukrainian drones during the flight.

Russia's Federal Air Transport Agency initially attributed the crash to a collision with a flock of birds.

This event follows not long after Russia conducted a massive attack ‘seriously damaging equipment’ on a thermal power plant that left one person dead and half a million Ukrainian households in Kharkiv without heat on Christmas morning.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy took to social media following the attack suggesting the idea behind the attack on Christmas was 'a deliberate choice' of war by Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Ukraine also launched an attack on Russia in Lgov in the Kursk region that reportedly killed four people and left five others injured.

But Russia has recently rebuffed President-elect Donald Trump’s call for an immediate ceasefire in Ukraine. Putin stated last week he was ready to compromise over Ukraine in possible talks with Trump on ending the war, but he wants a permanent solution, not a temporary ceasefire.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov reportedly stated in an online news conference Thursday that now 'a ceasefire is a road to nowhere.'

Lavrov suggested that a ceasefire would allow Ukraine to build its military capacity.

However, the foreign minister did state that Russia is ready to negotiate on a long-lasting peace agreement to end the war.

Lavrov added, 'We need conclusive, legally binding agreements, which will create all the conditions for ensuring the security of the Russian Federation and, of course, the legitimate security interests of our neighbors.'

What it Means

The Ukrainian-Russia conflict hasn’t shown signs of improvement.

Trump suggests that China can help resolve this conflict between Ukraine and Russia as 'the world is waiting,' but peace agreement talks could further setback ceasefire plans from both sides.

For now, it’s not clear how or if the outcome of the airplane crash investigation could further impact future negotiations.