The US said it has "early indications" that suggest Russian air defenses downed a passenger plane. An Azerbaijan Airlines plane crashed while trying to land after diverting to Kazakhstan, killing 38. Experts pointed to damage to the plane before it landed, suggesting it had been hit by a missile.

Airlines are avoiding Russian airspace after an Azerbaijan Airlines flight crashed on Wednesday, killing 38 passengers. The Embraer 190 jet was bound for Russia from Azerbaijan — but veered off course after sustaining some kind of damage over Russia. It managed to reach Aktau airport in Kazakhstan before crash-landing. 29 passengers survived.

A passenger jet operated by Azerbaijan Airlines crashed near the city of Aktau in Kazakhstan on Wednesday, after diverting from an area of southern Russia where Moscow has repeatedly used air defence systems against Ukrainian attack drones.