Preliminary reports indicate that a Russian-operated missile shot down an Azerbaijan Airlines flight that crashed in Kazakhstan on Christmas Day, according to a U.S. official.

Experts say evidence in the Azerbaijan Airlines plane crash in Kazakhstan points to a possible midair explosion, not an encounter with a flock of birds.

Dozens of people have died after an Azerbaijan Airlines flight traveling from the Azerbaijani capital of Baku to Grozny in Russia crashed on Christmas Day 2024, according to reports.