the white house says it's seen early indications that suggest an azerbaijani airlines passenger jet, e itself says initial results of an investigation suggest the cause was some kind of "external interference." 38 people were killed when the plane came down, two miles short of the runway at aktau airport, in western kazakhstan. the aircraft originally tried to land at grozny airport in southern russia, but witnesses say there was an explosion before the plane was diverted. jon donnison reports.

the white house says it's seen early indications that suggest an azerbaijani airlines passengerjet, thats possibly brought down by russian air defence systems. the airline itself says initial results of an investigation suggest the cause was some kind of "external interfence." 38 people were killed when the plane came down, two miles short of the runway at aktau airport, in western kazakhstan. the aircraft originally tried to land at grozny airport in southern russia — but witnesses say there was an explosion before the plane was diverted.

the russian state media has spoken to azerbaijan about the azerbaijani airlines plane which crashed ina has so far refused to comment on allegations in the downing on the plane but it says that mr putin has told the president that defences were active at the time. the kremlin described it as a tragic incident. it has seen indications... indications' that suggest an azerbaijani airlines plane which crashed in kazakhstan this week was possibly brought down by russian air defence systems. russia has so far refused to comment on the allegations. the airline says preliminary results of an investigation into the incident found there was �*external physical and technical interference'. but the report stopped short of accusing any group or country of being responsible. the azerbaijan transport minister said all of the 29 survivors of the crash �*without exception�* said they heard three blast sounds when the plane was flying above grozny in southern russia. the plane was flying above the head of russia�*s aviation authority says the plane was unable land at grozny airport because of a ukrainia

jon: russian president vladimir putin has apologized for the crash of a azerbaijani airlines flight inresponsibility for the deaths of dozens of people on board despite images showing holes in the plains of tail section that suggests a russian air defense missile might have hit it by mistake. stephanie bennett has more. >> president putin apologized to the president of azerbaijani today calling it a tragic incident. stopped short of saying it was responsible for it meanwhile funerals are underway paid one of the victims of the azerbaijani airlines crash was buried saturday he was just 13 years old was flying alone to visit his mother's relatives say. of the 67 on board, 38 were killed. on christmas day the aircraft took off from azerbaijani was headed to southern russia. but as it tried to land survivors say they heard a banks and the plane was suddenly diverted across the caspian sea to cause extent or the plant planehurtled toward the ground atlanta short of burst into flames to flight attendants and pilot were killed by. >> 20 or 30 minutes after takeoff we felt two explosions. the

thank yom _ the united states says it's seen "early indications" that suggest an azerbaijani airlinesrashed in kazakhstan this week was possibly brought down by russian air defence systems. russia has so far refused to comment on the allegations. the airline says preliminary results of an investigation into the incident found there was "external physical and technical interference". but the report stopped short of accusing any group or country of being responsible. the azerbaijan transport minister said all of the 29 survivors of the crash "without exception" said they heard three blast sounds when the plane was flying above grozny in southern russia. the head of russia's aviation authority says the plane was unable land at grozny airport because of a ukrainian drone attack. 38 people died when the plane came down, two miles short of the runway, at aktau airport, in kazakhstan. this report from jon donnison. this is the moment the plane went down. it's remarkable anyone survived. but emerging from the wreckage, some did. the flight had been diverted to kazakhstan after passengers hear

the white house says an azerbaijani airliner — that crashed in kazakhstan — may have been shot down byistration — by announcing an app that connects those facing arrest with consulates and lawyers. and a nasa spacecraft makes history by surviving the closest—ever approach to the sun. i'm carl nasman, welcome to the programme. the white house has said it has seen early signs suggesting that azerbaijan passenger plane that crashed on christmas day was possibly brought down by russian air defence systems. the airline itself —— make airline itself says it was due to some sort of external interference. 30 people were killed when the plane came down to miles short of the airport in tactile airport. the airline tried to land in grozny airport but there was an explosion before there was an explosion before the plane

the united states says it's seen "early indications" that suggest a azerbaijani airlines plane, whichrought down by russian air defence systems. the kremlin has so far refused to comment on the allegations. the airline says that the preliminary results of the investigation into the incident found there was "external physical and technical interference". but the report stopped short of accusing any group or country of being responsible. the azerbaijan transport minister said all of the 29 survivors of the crash "without exception" said they heard three blast sounds when the plane was flying above grozny in southern russia.

way they phrased it is pretty close to pointing at moscow, and in the same announcement, the azerbaijani airlinesannounced that they are stopping flights to nearly ten russian cities because of safety concerns, and let us remember, when news of this incident hits, the azerbaijani president was on his way to saint petersburg to take part in a summit of leaders of post—soviet states, and turned around and flew back to baku to preside over the investigation of this. so there is a lot of outrage about this in azerbaijan, not only about the incident itself, but about how russia appears to be attempting to cover it up, the way, it has to be said, they have covered up previous incidents, such as the shooting down of the malaysian airliner in 2015. and an international inquiry into what has happened is being called for. that seems unlikely at the moment. so what do you think the long—term consequences in terms of diplomacy in the region could be? the inquiry is already sort of international, because the plane was a brazilian plane, so specialists and inspectors from brazil have already arrived in kazakhs

the white house says it's seen early indications that suggest an azerbaijani airlines passengerjet, thatrashed on christmas day killing dozens of people, was possibly brought down by russian air defence systems. the airline itself says initial results of an investigation suggest the cause was some kind of "external interference. 38 people were killed when the plane came down, two miles short of the runway at aktau airport, in western kazakhstan. the aircraft originally tried to land at grozny airport in southern russia, but witnesses say there was an explosion before the plane was diverted. jon donnison reports. this is the moment the plane went down. it's remarkable anyone survived. but emerging from the wreckage, some did. the flight had been diverted to kazakhstan after passengers heard bangs when it tried to land at its original destination, grozny, in chechnya. translation: they say there were two bangs, l but i only heard one. it was quite substantial. i honestly didn't hear the second one. at first only some of the oxygen masks fell out, not all of them. investigators are now exam

the white house says an azerbaijani airliner that crashed in kazakhstan may have been shot down by russia its former prime minister manmohan singh — the first sikh to lead the nation. and a nasa spacecraft makes history by surviving the closest—ever approach to the sun. hello. i'm carl naz man, welcome to the programme. the united states says a plane that crashed in kazakhstan on christmas day, killing 38 people, may have been brought down by russian air defence systems. azerbaijan airlines said there had been external interference, as it tried to land in russian territory. russia has refused to comment on speculation that it fired on the plane by mistake. the pilots were killed in the crash, but they are credited with saving 29 people on board, by managing to land part of the plane. azerbaijan is demanding an international investigation. ukraine says russia has to be held to account. jon donnison reports. this is the moment the plane went down.

president vladimir putin issued a rare apology today following the deadly plane crash of an azerbaijani airliner this week. putin spoke with the leaders of azerbaijan and kazakhstan to send his condolences following the crash that killed at least 38 people. but he stopped short of taking responsibility. the flight was en route to the chechen capital of grozny when it crash-landed wednesday. the kremlin said ukrainian drones were attacking the area and russian air defense systems were firing near the airport, but did not say those systems hit the plane. white house officials said this week early indications point to the possibility that russian air defense systems brought down the plane. the investigation is ongoing. the head of one of the last functioning hospitals in northern gaza is now in the custody of the israeli military. the gaza health ministry says the director was forcibly arrested by the idf one day after troops stormed the hospital. the idf says hamas used the hospital to conduct operations, but provided no evidence. in central gaza, an israeli airstrike hit a home overnight, killing

airliner over eastern ukraine in 2014. i'm joined now by konul khalilova from the bbc azerbaijani service. good to see you. fferent strands of this story to discuss, but azerbaijan airlines have released this report. much detail is in? we understand — report. much detail is in? - understand from what the minister of degenerative limit and transport said that they are sure it was hit by a military device, but for now, they have not announced what it was. he said that there was a visible damage, including holes in the wing, and the investigation shy to find out what kind of weapon has been used. he said that the preliminary results show that it was an external interference and i quote him. he says, the preliminary outcome that azerbaijan came is it was an external interference, he said. he also has been referring to people's accounts, to those who survived, and he said that they heard three times blasts happening outside the aircraft. in flight attendant also told the local media in azerbaijan that as soon as the plane took off, it was hit by some kind of external strike. aviation experts have been saying tha

the white house says an azerbaijani airliner — that crashed in kazakhstan — may have been shot down bytect migrants in the us potentially facing deportation — announcing an app that connects those facing arrest with consulates and lawyers. and a nasa spacecraft makes history by surviving the closest—ever approach to the sun. plus, india is holding a state funeral for its former prime minister, first to seek to lead the nation. —— the first sikh. hello i'm carl nasman. the united states says a plane that crashed in kazakhstan on christmas day killing 38 people may have been brought down by russian air defence systems. azerbaijan airlines said there had been external interference as it tried to land in russian territory. russia has refused to comment on speculation that it fired

a number of military bloggers and aviation experts have accused russia of shooting down an azerbaijani airlines which crashed on wednesday, killing 38 people. no proof has been offered, but the experts have suggested the plane was mistaken for a ukrainian drone and attacked by russia's air defences. some witnesses have reported hearing an explosion. the kremlin has said it's wrong to speculate on the cause before the outcome of an investigation. our reporterjonathanjosephs has been following the story. the first thing to say is that we need to be cautious here. we don't have independent experts who have been at the scene and have been able to verify what has actually happened. we have had people that do know about these things examining the video footage that has been emerging from the scene. it is quite detailed in some parts. in particular, attention is being drawn by military experts, people i've spoken to, to the pockmarks to, to the pockmarks on the fuse alleged that survived the impact, as you will see, the plane seems to have split into two on impact and the rear part of the plane surviv

. >> rescuers arrived at the crash site of a passenger plane kazakhstan wednesday and azerbaijani airliner headed to russia. went off course crashed killing dozens of the 67 people onboard mission. it looks as knew. >> russian president vladimir putin expressed condolences for the victims azerbaijan says it's launched a criminal investigation to figure out what happened. u.s. officials say there's early signs are russian anti-aircraft system may have struck the plane. this comes amid speculation russia was fending off ukrainian drone attacks in the area of the plane was trying to land ukraine launch drones after russia attacked ukraine's energy grid on christmas, leaving half a million people without heat. president joe biden says russia's holiday attack was, quote, outrageous and vowed to keep sending weapons to help ukraine adding quote, the united states will continue to work tirelessly to strengthen ukraine's position and its defense against russian forces. president-elect donald trump's pick for special envoy to ukraine and russia also criticized russia's attack. retired lieutenant ge

. >> rescuers arrived at the crash site of a passenger plane kazakhstan wednesday and azerbaijani airliner headed to russia, went off course crashed killing dozens of the 67 people onboard mission looks you. >> russian president vladimir putin expressed condolences for the victims azerbaijan says it's launched a criminal investigation to figure out what happened. u.s. officials say there's early signs are russian anti-aircraft system may have struck the plane. this comes amid speculation russia was fending off ukrainian drone attacks in the keep sending weapons to help ukraine adding quote, the united states will continue to work tirelessly to strengthen ukraine's position and its defense against russian forces. president-elect donald trump's pick for special envoy to ukraine and russia also criticized russia's attack, retired lieutenant general keith kellogg posted on x, launching large-scale missile and drone attacks on the day of lords. birth is wrong. >> russia says any guesses about the cause of the crash would be wrong until officials from azerbaijan and kazakhstan finish their inves

the white house says it's seen early indications that suggest an azerbaijani airlines passengerjet, thatlf says initial results of an investigation suggest the cause was some kind of "external interference. 38 people were killed when the plane came down, two miles short of the runway at aktau airport, in western kazakhstan. the aircraft originally tried to land at grozny airport in southern russia, but witnesses say there was an explosion before the plane was diverted. jon donnison reports.

a number of military bloggers and aviation experts have accused russia of shooting down an azerbaijani airlinesfered, but the experts have

. >> rescuers arrived at the crash site of a passenger plane kazakhstan wednesday and azerbaijani airliner headed to russia. went off course and crashed killing dozens of the 67 people onboard mission. but it looks as knew. >> russian president vladimir putin expressed condolences for the victims azerbaijan says it's launched a criminal investigation to figure out what happened. u.s. officials say there's early signs are russian anti-aircraft system may have struck the plane. this comes amid speculation russia was fending off ukrainian drone attacks in the area of the plane was trying to land ukraine launch drones after russia attacked ukraine's energy grid on christmas, leaving half a million people without heat. president joe biden says russia's holiday attack was, quote, outrageous and vowed to keep sending weapons to help ukraine adding quote, the united states will continue to work tirelessly to strengthen ukraine's position and its defense against russian forces. president-elect donald trump's pick for special envoy to ukraine and russia also criticized russia's attack. retired lieut

now says it too sees indications that a russian air defense systems may be to blame for an azerbaijani airlinerrash this week, echoing preliminary findings by azerbaijani officials. the flight was heading from azerbaijan's capital of baku to the russian republic of chechnya when it turned towards kazakhstan and crashed while trying to land. in azerbaijan, the first funeral took place today for one the 38 people killed. 29 others survived with injuries. for its part, russian officials say fog and the threat of ukrainian drone strike prevented the flight from landing at its initial destination. turning to the middle east, palestinian health officials say israeli soldiers raided and burned one of the last functioning hospitals in northern gaza today after forcing many staff members and patients from the facility. the kamal hospital is located in beit lahiya where israeli soldiers have been fighting an offensive against hamas militants. this footage shows the hospital earlier this month. israel claims militants were using it as a base. staff members deny that, and say the hospital been hit several

russian ballistic missile strike on kyiv on christmas day took place on the same day that azerbaijani airlineras blasted out of the sky. as you mentioned, the biden administration is set to announce another billion dollars in arms shipment to ukraine, that's about a quarter of the stockpiled weapons that remain in the pentagon that it's willing to depart with. as russia's war in ukraine nears if 3-year mark, they launched that ballistic missile strike in ukraine's capital on christmas day, another arms shipment to be announced early next week. many officials call the war a stalemate right now with the front lines not changing significantly over the past two years, david. over 50,000 ukrainian soldiers have been killed since the beginning of the war, roughly the same number the u.s. military lost in vietnam. the white house wants ukraine to lower the draft age to 18, and now north korea sent thousands of soldiers to help russia retake the kursk region after ukrainian forces launched that daring invasion of the russian territory back in august. white house spokesman john kirby talked about the h

. >>> this morning azerbaijan's president said the azerbaijani airlines jet that crashed on wednesday in kazakhstan was accidentally shot down by russia. two u.s. military officials telling nbc news the u.s. has intelligence indicating the russians may have believed the airliner was ukrainian drone and took it down. russian president vladimir putin called the crash a, quote, tragic incident but stopped short of claiming responsibility. >>> and back here at home, tornadoes ripped through the south overnight as millions head home from the holidays and the threat is not over yet. nbc's kathy park is in jackson, mississippi. kathy, good moing. >> reporter: ellison, good morning to you. those severe storms carved a path of destruction this morning. tens of thousands are waking up without power, and many are looking at damage like this, uprooted trees, debris scattered just about everywhere, and now a big cleanup ahead. overnight, another dangerous outbreak of severe weather stretching across texas -- >> i just hope it breaks up. >> reporter: -- louisiana and mississippi. several twisters s

there were reportedly 67 people on board the azerbaijani airliner when it went down. azerbaijani capital of baku to the russian city of grozny, when it was diverted and attempted an emergency landing. the azerbaijani president said that it was too soon to speculate on the reasons behind the crash, but did say the weather had forced the plane to change from its planned course. after nearly three years of heavy battles and mass strikes, russia's full scale war against ukraine continues. fox's aishah hosni reports the latest attack came on christmas day. >> ukrainian soldiers on the front lines firing back christmas day, hitting the russian town of lgov in the kursk region. this after russia attacked ukraine's energy system with cruise and ballistic missiles wednesday, wounding at least six people and killing one. ukraine's president volodymyr zelenskyy responding, saying russia made a conscious choice to launch attacks on christmas, calling the move inhumane. >> i do think it's inhuman to choose this particular day, but that's not unusual for vladimir putin. >> in ukrai

. >> rescuers arrived at the crash site of a passenger plane kazakhstan wednesday and azerbaijani airliner headed to russia. went off course crashed killing dozens of the 67 people onboard. the mission isn't in you. >> russian president vladimir putin expressed condolences for the victims azerbaijan says it's launched a criminal investigation to figure out what happened. u.s. officials say there's early signs are russian anti-aircraft system may have struck the plane. this comes amid speculation russia was fending off ukrainian drone attacks in the area of the plane was trying to land ukraine launch drones after russia attacked ukraine's energy grid on christmas, leaving half a million people without heat. president joe biden says russia's holiday attack was, quote, outrageous and vowed to keep sending weapons to help ukraine adding quote, the united states will continue to work tirelessly to strengthen ukraine's position in its defense against russian forces. president-elect donald trump's pick for special envoy to ukraine and russia also criticized russia's attack. retired lieutenant gen

. >> rescuers arrived at the crash site of a passenger plane kazakhstan wednesday and azerbaijani airlinerent off course crashed killing dozens of the 67 people onboard mission looks you. >> russian president vladimir putin expressed condolences for the victims azerbaijan says it's launched a criminal investigation to figure out what happened. u.s. officials say there's early signs are russian anti-aircraft system may have struck the plane. this comes amid speculation russia was fending off ukrainian drone attacks in the area of the plane was trying to land ukraine launch drones after russia attacked ukraine's energy grid on christmas, leaving half a million people without heat. president joe biden says russia's holiday attack was, quote, outrageous and vowed to keep sending weapons to help ukraine adding quote, the united states will continue to work tirelessly to strengthen ukraine's position and its defense against russian forces. president-elect donald trump's pick for special envoy to ukraine and russia also criticized russia's attack, retired lieutenant general keith kellogg posted o

this just demonstrates the this this latest event, the shootdown of this azerbaijani airliner in kazakhstan, um, landing in kazakhstan demonstrates that his his military is is at best incompetent. >> given the fact that there is still a lot to play for in ukraine. as far as vladimir putin is concerned. where would you put the odds that he will actually come to the negotiating table in 2025, despite what the president-elect trump is saying about it? >> president putin has given no indication that he is serious about any kind of negotiations. um, president zelenskyy, on the other hand, in ukraine, has said he's willing to negotiate if he can get a security guarantee, if he can be assured that the russians won't invade again. um, so the ukrainians have said they're willing to negotiate. putin has given no indication that he's serious about negotiating. it is possible that the new administration in washington could put some pressure on putin if they've got some leverage on mr. putin to make him come to the table. that's a possibility. >> yeah. uh, a lot in the next few weeks before president el

also on friday, as you described, azerbaijani airlines indicated that after their initial investigation, the plane crashed after experiencing, quote, physical and technical external interference. so while this theory is still unconfirmed, it is gaining a lot of traction. ben. and in terms of what's next for this investigation, investigators did find a second black box in the wreckage on friday, and they're hoping that this will really be key to solving this puzzle. they're hoping that voice recordings from the cockpit and also instrument readings will give some kind of indication as to why dozens of people lost their lives during this very tragic flight on christmas day. ben. >> so at this point, it does seem like lots of people are pointing directly at russia and saying, you did this. so what is russia saying in response? >> honestly, ben, not too much. they are denying the fact, of course, that this was a misidentification and they're refusing to really comment on any of the accusations and allegations made by ukrainian officials. also the u.s. official and also azerbaijani officials

today, as russian president vladimir putin responds to the crash of an azerbaijani airliner that killed 38 people on christmas day. putin's remarks about what he calls a, quote, tragic incident coming as a u.s. official tells cnn russian air defenses may have mistaken that commercial jet for a ukrainian drone. putin did acknowledge russia's air defense systems were active when that flight attempted to land in chechnya. cnn's nadia bashir is covering this for us. and, nana, we're getting this new information from putin. at the same time, we're hearing from some of the 29 people who miraculously survived that crash. >> that's right. the allegations against russia and the possible link between russia's air defenses and this crash appear to be mounting. but as you mentioned, no clear admission of responsibility just yet from the russian authorities, not least from the president, vladimir putin, who today expressed his condolences and apology for the crash. the incident, taking place after entering russian airspace. but he did crucially acknowledge that russia's air defense systems were acti

this crash took place on kazakhstan soil, but it was an azerbaijani airline. it's a brazilian air frame, embraer and of course russia involved because it was coming out of russian territory. it was on its way there. who runs this investigation? >> kazakhstan will run the investigation. everyone else will be present. they'll be part of it. but the control of the box. and what happens there is the point of of impact. that's what's the most important place to start. and there's a lot of information there. and we'll see how much gets out about it. >> can we expect kazakhstan to to run a fair, free, fair, honest investigation without pressure from russia? >> you know, i was really impressed with the first meeting that they had and what came out and what they were very staunch about. the fact that all that information is going to be available, all of it's going to be investigated down to the original cause. the azerbaijani lead on this was very firm about what it is that he wants them to do, to report to him and all the other authorities. so i'm i'm pretty confident

vladimir putin is apologizing for what he calls a tragic incident following the crash of that azerbaijani airliner that killed 38 people on christmas day. but the kremlin leader is also stopping short of admitting responsibility for the disaster. this comes as a u.s. official tells cnn that russian air defenses may have mistaken the commercial jet that crashed on wednesday, with the ukrainian drone. today, putin admitted that russia's air defense systems were active when that flight attempted to land in chechnya on wednesday. let's get to cnn's nadia bashir, who is covering this for us. nadia, what's the latest here? what are you learning? >> that's right. well, this continues to be a key line of inquiry whether or not the plane was targeted by russian anti-aircraft systems operating in the area. now, we've been hearing, of course, from azerbaijani officials who confirmed yesterday that they believe that the plane had faced external physical and technical interference, and that was something that they were. and investigators were looking at. but of course, as you mentioned, we have today heard fro

quote, tragic incident but declining to take responsibility. 38 people died wednesday when an azerbaijani airlinerrashed after entering russian airspace, a u.s. official telling cnn. russian air defense defenses may have mistaken the commercial jet for a ukrainian drone. and today, putin admitted russia's air defense systems were active when that plane went down. cnn's nora bashir is joining us now. tell us more about what we're hearing from vladimir putin today. >> well, just as you said, jessica, no clear admission of responsibility just yet from moscow. but it is interesting that we are hearing from the russian president, vladimir putin, acknowledging that russia's air defense systems were active in this area at the time preceding the crash. and, of course, that apology that the crash took place after the azerbaijan airlines plane left and entered russian airspace. now, of course, there had been questions around nearby drone activity. it's understood that parts of southern russia, including grozny, where the plane was intended to land, had been facing ukrainian drone attacks, and therefore it's

vladimir putin is apologizing for what he calls a tragic incident following that crash of that azerbaijani airliner that killed 38 people on christmas day. but the kremlin leader is also stopping short of admitting responsibility for the disaster. this comes as a u.s. official tells cnn that russian air defenses may have mistaken the commercial jet that crashed on wednesday with a ukrainian drone. today, putin admitted that russia's air defense systems were active when that flight attempted to land in chechnya on wednesday. let's get to cnn's nadia bashir, who joins us now to talk to us a bit more about what we heard in terms of this apology and also what happens now for the investigation? >> well, hell, no clear admission of responsibility from president putin. despite that apology and expression of condolences to the authorities in azerbaijan, that this incident took place after the plane entered russian airspace. but there has been, of course, an acknowledgment that russian air defense systems were active at the time that the area where the plane was heading in chechnya was under a drone attack

vladimir putin is apologizing for what he calls a tragic incident following the crash of that azerbaijani airlinert killed 38 people on christmas day. but the kremlin leader is also stopping short of admitting responsibility for the disaster. this comes as a u.s. official tells cnn that russian air defenses may have mistaken the commercial jet that crashed on christmas day, with a ukrainian drone. today, putin admitted that russia's air defense systems were active when that flight attempted to land in chechnya on wednesday. all of this happening as we are also now hearing from one of the 29 people who emerged from that disaster alive. let's go to cnn's nadia bashir, who is covering this for us. not a good morning. what more are you learning here, or how there has been certainly a lot of questions swirling around the cause behind this crash. >> and one of the key lines of inquiry that we have repeatedly heard now from u.s. officials and according to reuters sources who are familiar with that ongoing investigation, is this question of russia's air defense systems in the area. and, of course, nearby

vladimir putin is apologizing for what he calls a tragic incident following the crash of that azerbaijani airliner that killed 38 people on christmas day. but putin also stopped short of admitting responsibility for the disaster. this comes as u.s. official tells cnn that russian air defenses may have mistaken the commercial jet that crashed on wednesday, with a ukrainian drone. now, today, putin admitted that russia's air defense systems were active when that flight attempted to land in chechnya on wednesday. all of this happening as we are also now hearing from one of the 29 people who emerged from the disaster alive. cnn's nadia bashir has been covering this for us, not to just give us an update on what's the latest, both in terms of what we heard from putin and this apology, but also now in the. investigation? >> well, you're absolutely right. putin stopped short of any sort of claim of responsibility for this fatal crash, but acknowledged that russian air defense systems had been active in the area where the plane was intended to land and grozny. and of course, this comes as there had been dr

officials telling nbc news that they have intelligence that the russians misidentified the azerbaijani airliner and shot it down with an air defense system. the two officials say the russians believed it was a drone and engaged their air defenses in part because of the irregular flight pattern and because of the altitude, they say. both stressing that the investigation is still under way. one of the officials also saying that russian officials may have suffered from what this person says was confirmation bias because a ukrainian drone was shot down 17 miles away. the azerbaijani aircraft also appears to have sustained shrapnel damage consistent, officials say, with a muscle exploding in the vicinity of the aircraft. i should point out that we've also heard from russian officials today, not the kremlin, they are still saying wait until the investigation is completes and don't jump to conclusion. but we did hear from the head of russia's federal agency for air transport. he said that there was dense fog near grozny, and grozny, of course, was to be the final destination of the flight a243 of azer

kazakhstan say 38 people have been killed in the azerbaijan airlines plane crash near the city of aktau. the aircraft had left the azerbaijanien route to grozny in the russian republic of chechnya, but was diverted because of fog. duncan kennedy has the latest. this was the plane in its final moments. descending at high speed, its landing gear down. the pilot appears to be struggling to control the jet. it banks just before impact. much of the aircraft was crushed into a burning trail of wreckage. emergency workers converged on the scene, some crawling inside the plane looking for survivors. incredibly, dozens of passengers made it out. this man, just one of those staggering from the carnage. they were saved by this tail section, the only part of the aircraft left intact. the local hospital was filled with those wounded, but alive. this man says, "when the plane crashed, my wife was sitting next to me. "i haven't seen my wife since the crash." this is the family of one of the flight attendants on board — theirfears calmed by a video call he made from his hospital bed... ..saying, "don't worry. tell mum not to worry. thank go

this was an azerbaijan airlines flight traveling from the azerbaijani capital, baku, to grozny in the russian region of chechnya. as you mentioned, it made that emergency landing about two miles from the kazakh city of aktau. at this stage, according to russian aviation authorities, preliminary information suggests that the pilot may have been forced to attempt an emergency landing as a result of a bird strike. but we are still waiting for more updates and a fuller picture of what exactly led to this crash. danny. >> so, so scary. and you're right, a lot of anxiety for many families this morning, but incredible that there are some survivors now. beshear. thank you very much. and overnight, russia launched a massive christmas morning aerial attack on ukraine's energy sector. an attack ukrainian president volodymyr zelenskyy condemned as inhumane. at least one person was killed in the dnipro region after russia launched more than 70 missiles and 100 attack drones. ukraine's air defenses managed to shoot down many of them, but several still hit their energy sector targets, leading to bla

. >> well, kate, the azerbaijan airlines flight was traveling from the azerbaijani capital, baku, to grozny in the russian region of chechnya, but it was forced to make an emergency landing around two miles from the kazakh city of aktau. now, video circulating from eyewitnesses and those nearby the crash site shows that the plane was circling the airfield somewhat erratically before the crash, then bursting into flames as it hit the ground. now, emergency response teams were quickly at the scene and remarkably, there were a number of survivors, including at least two children, according to authorities, with video showing some of those injured emerging from the wreckage. but this is a moment of huge tragedy for those that did not survive. according to authorities, there were 67 people on board the flight, including five crew members. preliminary reports according to russian aviation authorities, suggest that the pilot was forced to attempt an emergency landing following a bird strike. however, investigations are still ongoing. kate. >> nada. thank you very, very much for that coming u

. >> well, the azerbaijan airlines flight was traveling from the azerbaijani capital, baku, to grozny in the russian region of chechnya, but it was forced to make an emergency landing around two miles from the kazakh city of aktau. >> now, video circulating from eyewitnesses and those nearby the crash site shows that the plane was circling the airfield somewhat erratically before the crash, then bursting into flames as it hit the ground. now, emergency response teams were quickly at the scene and remarkably, there were a number of survivors, including at least two children, according to authorities, with videos showing some of those injured emerging from the wreckage. but this is a moment of huge tragedy for those that that did not survive. according to authorities, there were 67 people on board the flight, including five crew members. preliminary reports according to russian aviation authorities, suggest that the pilot was forced to attempt an emergency landing following a bird strike. however, investigations are still ongoing. nadia bashir, cnn in london. >> happening soon, pope fra

. >> well, kate, the azerbaijan airlines flight was traveling from the azerbaijani capital, baku, to grozny in the russian region of chechnya, but it was forced to make an emergency landing around two miles from the kazakh city of aktau. now, video circulating from eyewitnesses and those nearby the crash site shows that the plane was circling the airfield somewhat erratically before the crash, then bursting into flames as it hit the ground. now, emergency response teams were quickly at the scene and remarkably, there were a number of survivors, including at least two children, according to authorities, with video showing some of those injured emerging from the wreckage. but this is a moment of huge tragedy for those that did not survive. according to authorities, there were 67 people on board the flight, including five crew members. preliminary reports according to russian aviation authorities, suggest that the pilot was forced to attempt an emergency landing following a bird strike. however, investigations are still ongoing. kate. >> nadia, thank you so much for that. also, overnigh

airlines flight 8243. the commercial jet taking off on wednesday morning from baku, the azerbaijani capital, en route to grozny. new video showing the plane flying erratically, rapidly losing and regaining altitude. the plane's wing visibly damaged before crashing in a city in kazakhstan across the caspian sea. of the 67 people from four different countries onboard, 38, including both pilots, were killed. miraculously, 29 survived, some pulled from the wreckage, others appearing to walk away unharmed. local officials initially suggested the crash was caused by a bird strike, but a u.s. official casting doubt on that narrative, telling abc news there are early indications that the plane may have been hit by a russian anti-aircraft system. prompting comparisons to the 2014 downing of malaysia airlines flight mh-17, which an investigation later determined was shot down by russian forces in ukraine. the kremlin saying this morning it would be wrong to speculate before the investigation is complete. >> there have also been indicators that point toward a shootdown of that aircraft. >> reporter: i spoke with andrew n

when president putin telephoned the azerbaijani president he did admit that russian air defence systems had been in operation at the time the azerbaijan airlinesied to land at grozny airport. he said the air defences were trying to repel a ukrainian drone attack. no explanation in the kremlin readout of that conversation as to why that plane was allowed anywhere near grozny airport if there was a ukrainian drone attack in the way the airspace hadn't been closed. to sum up what vladimir putin didn't say today was, yes, we did this, it was a russian missile that downed the plane, but this is the closest russia has come so far to admitting responsibility for the disaster. for more on this, i spoke earlier with andrew nicholson, the ceo of osprey flight solutions, a risk intelligence and management company. i asked him whether putin's statements clarify anything about the accident. it clarifies some details. it confirms that the incident happened in russian airspace but other than that it doesn't change our assessment. all of the indicators were there already that the scenario that appears to have played out was a russian aircraft activity. it mis