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The UK has called for an independent investigation into the downing of an Azerbaijani plane thought to have been caused by a Russian missile
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The UK foreign office has criticised Russia after President Vladimir Putin apologised to his Azerbaijani counterpart over a plane crash in Russian airspace that left dozens dead.
Mr Putin said he was sorry “for the fact that the tragic incident occurred in Russian airspace” during a call with his Azerbaijani counterpart Ilham Aliyev on Saturday.
But Mr Putin stopped short of admitting Russian responsibility for the crash, which killed 38 people.
In response, a spokesperson for the UK foreign, commonwealth and development office demanded a full independent investigation into what happened.
A spokesperson said: “President Putin’s statement fails to recognise that the reckless and irresponsible actions of the Russian state pose an acute and direct threat to the interests and national security of other states.”
Flight J2-8243 crashed on Wednesday in a ball of fire near the city of Aktau in Kazakhstan after diverting from southern Russia where Ukrainian drones were reported to be attacking several cities. At least 38 people were killed while 29 survived.
The US has suggested that Russia could be responsible for the downing of the plane, while sources in Azerbaijan claimed Russian air defence missiles hit the plane.
Russia’s foreign ministry said it had responded to a new package of European Union sanctions by significantly expanding a list of EU and EU member state officials banned from entering Russia.
The European Union on Monday imposed a 15th package of sanctions against Russia, including tougher measures against Chinese entities and more vessels from Moscow’s so-called shadow fleet.
Russia‘s foreign ministry said in a statement it had responded by adding more unnamed “representatives of security agencies, state and commercial organisations of EU countries, and citizens of EU member states responsible for providing military aid to Kyiv” to its stop list.
Joe Biden responded to a shouted question about whether Vladimir Putin should take responsibility for the crash while he was leaving church in St Croix in the US Virgin Islands, where he is on vacation.
“Apparently he did, but I haven’t spoken to him or my team,” Mr Biden replied.
The White House said on Friday it had seen early indications suggesting the airliner was possibly brought down by Russian air defence systems and added that Washington had offered assistance to the investigation into the crash.
MSNBC on Friday cited two unidentified US military sources as saying that there was American intelligence that Russia may have mistakenly shot down the airliner after misidentifying it as an incoming drone.
Volodymyr Zelensky expressed condolences to Azerbaijan’s president Ilham Aliyev about the Azeri plane that crashed in Kazakhstan and which Azeri sources have told Reuters is believed to have been shot down by Russian air defences.
“The key priority now is a thorough investigation to provide answers to all questions about what really happened. Russia must provide clear explanations and stop spreading disinformation,” Mr Zelensky said in a statement on X after the call.
Shortly after, president Vladimir Putin apologised to Azerbaijan’s leader for what the Kremlin called a “tragic incident” over Russia in which an Azerbaijan Airlines plane crashed after Russian air defences were fired against Ukrainian drones.
The extremely rare publicised apology from Putin was the closest Moscow had come to accepting some blame for Wednesday’s disaster, although the Kremlin statement did not say Russia had shot down the plane, only noting that a criminal case had been opened.
Russia’s state-owned energy giant Gazprom said it will halt gas supplies to Moldova starting on 1 January, citing alleged unpaid debt by the European Union candidate country, which has brought in emergency measures as it braces for power cuts.
Gazprom said in an online statement that it reserved the right to take further action, including terminating its contract with Moldovagaz, Moldova’s main gas operator, in which the Russian company owns a majority stake. The cessation of gas will stop supplies to the Kuciurgan power plant, the country’s largest, which is situated in the separatist pro-Russian Transnistria region.
Moldova reacted by accusing Moscow of weaponising energy supplies.Gazprom supplies the gas-operated Kuciurgan plant, which generates electricity that powers a significant portion of Moldova proper. The plant was privatized in 2004 by Transnistrian officials and later sold to a Russian state-owned company.
Moldova, which has a West-leaning central government and has repeatedly complained of Russian interference, doesn’t recognise the privatisation.Earlier this month, Moldova’s parliament voted in favour of imposing a state of emergency in the energy sector over fears that Russia could leave Moldova without sufficient energy this winter.
Russia’s top security agency says that it has arrested several suspects accused of involvement in an alleged Ukrainian plot to assassinate senior military officers
Ukraine’s military intelligence says that North Korean troops are suffering heavy losses in the Kursk region and are facing logistical difficulties as a result of Ukrainian attacks
In the forests near Kharkiv, Askold Krushelnycky speaks to soldiers spending Christmas fighting a hi-tech battle against Vladimir Putin’s forces
NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte says the military alliance will step up patrols in the Baltic Sea area as Finnish investigators work to establish whether a ship linked to Russia sabotaged undersea cables there this week
Moscow’s Federal Security Service has arrested four Russians accused of helping plan the attack
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has sent more than 10,000 soldiers to help Russia, according to Kyiv and Seoul
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