Ukrainian Center for Countering Disinformation at the National Security and Defense Council Andrii Kovalenko stated on Wednesday that Russia's air defense systems damaged the Azerbaijani passenger plane causing it to crash in Kazakhstan.
Kovalenko condemned Russia for failing to close the airspace over Grozny, where the plane was originally scheduled to land, following a suspected drone attack. He accused Russia of using surface-to-air missiles to damage the aircraft and forcing it to divert to Kazakhstan instead of granting permission to land in Grozny.
The latest reports indicate that 38 passengers are believed to have died in the crash, while dozens of others have been hospitalized.
