Ukraine-Russia battle newest: Russia vows retaliation over EU blocking state media on Telegram amid Azerbaijan aircraft crash | EUROtoday

Azerbaijan was “in favor of a group of international experts” investigating the crash, president Ilham Aliyev stated.Baku had “categorically refused” Russia’s suggestion that the Interstate Aviation Committee, which oversees civil aviation within the Commonwealth of Independent States, examine it.

“It is no secret that this organisation consists mostly of Russian officials and is headed by Russian citizens. The factors of objectivity could not be fully ensured here,” Mr Aliyev stated.

Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov instructed Russian state media yesterday that Vladimir Putin had spoken to Mr Aliyev over the telephone once more however didn’t present particulars of the dialog.

The Kremlin stated a joint investigation by Russia, Azerbaijan and Kazakhstan was underway on the crash web site close to the town of Aktau in Kazakhstan.

The aircraft was flying from Azerbaijan’s capital, Baku, to Grozny when it turned in direction of Kazakhstan, lots of of kilometers throughout the Caspian Sea from its supposed vacation spot, and crashed whereas attempting to land.

Passengers and crew who survived the crash instructed Azerbaijani media they heard loud noises on the plane because it was circling over Grozny.

Azerbaijan’s president Ilham Aliyev stated Azerbaijan made three calls for to Russia in reference to the crash that killed 38.

“First, the Russian side must apologise to Azerbaijan. Second, it must admit its guilt. Third, punish the guilty, bring them to criminal responsibility and pay compensation to the Azerbaijani state, the injured passengers and crew members,” he stated.

Mr Aliyev famous that the primary demand was “already fulfilled” when Russian president Vladimir Putin apologised to him on Saturday. Mr Putin known as the crash a “tragic incident” although stopped in need of acknowledging Moscow’s duty.

He stated that an investigation into the crash was ongoing, and that “the final version (of events) will be known after the black boxes are opened.”

Azerbaijan’s president Ilham Aliyev stated yesterday that the Azerbaijani airliner that crashed final week was shot down by Russia, albeit unintentionally, and criticised Moscow for attempting to “hush up” the difficulty for days.

“We can say with complete clarity that the plane was shot down by Russia. (…) We are not saying that it was done intentionally, but it was done,” he instructed Azerbaijani state tv.

Mr Aliyev stated that the airliner, which crashed Wednesday in Kazakhstan, was hit by hearth from the bottom over Russia and “rendered uncontrollable by electronic warfare.”

Mr Aliyev accused Russia of attempting to “hush up” the difficulty for a number of days, saying he was “upset and surprised” by variations of occasions put ahead by Russian officers.“Unfortunately, for the first three days we heard nothing from Russia except delirious versions,” he stated.

The crash killed 38 of 67 folks on board. The Kremlin stated that air protection techniques have been firing close to Grozny, the regional capital of the Russian republic of Chechnya, the place the aircraft tried to land, to deflect a Ukrainian drone strike.

Azerbaijan’s president has stated the Azerbaijani airliner that crashed in Kazakhstan final week was shot down by Russia, albeit unintentionally.

“We can say with complete clarity that the plane was shot down by Russia. We are not saying that it was done intentionally, but it was done,” Ilham Aliyev instructed Azerbaijani state tv.

Mr Aliyev stated the plane was hit by hearth from the bottom over Russia and rendered uncontrollable by digital warfare.

He accused Russia of attempting to “hush up” the difficulty for a number of days, saying he was “upset and surprised” by variations of occasions put ahead by Russian officers.

“Unfortunately, for the first three days we heard nothing from Russia except delirious versions,” he stated.

The crash close to Aktau airport on Wednesday December 25 killed 38 of the 67 folks on board.

Russian power big Gazprom stated it could droop fuel exports to Moldova from 1 January because of unpaid debt by Moldova, which is bracing for extreme energy cuts.

It stated the corporate reserved the precise to take any motion, together with terminating the availability contract with Moldova.

Russia provides Moldova with about 2 billion cubic metres of fuel per yr, which is piped through Ukraine to the breakaway area of Transdniestria the place it’s used to generate low cost energy that’s bought to government-controlled components of Moldova.

Moldovan Prime Minister Dorin Recean condemned the Russian resolution, which is a precursor to a complete shutdown of Russian fuel exports through Ukraine and to Europe, the place it flows additional to Slovakia, Austria, Hungary and Italy, as soon as a present transit cope with Ukraine expires on 31 December.

Moldova might be hit the toughest by the shutdown.

“This decision confirms once again the intention of the Kremlin to leave the inhabitants of the Transdniestrian region without light and heat in the middle of the winter,” Recean wrote on Facebook, accusing Russia of utilizing power as a political weapon.

Moscow has repeatedly dismissed these allegations.

Aleksei Bugayev, a former member of Russia’s nationwide soccer staff who performed at Euro 2004, has been killed within the 34-month-old battle in Ukraine, Russian media quoted his father and agent as saying on Sunday.

“Unfortunately, the news about Aleksei’s death is true. It happened today,” TASS information company quoted the participant’s father Ivan Bugayev as telling the Sport24 information outlet.

RIA information company quoted Bugayev’s agent, Anton Smirnov, as saying intense combating had made it unimaginable to retrieve Bugayev’s physique for burial.

Bugayev, lifeless at age 43, performed two matches for the Russian nationwide staff within the 2004 European championship and in addition performed for Moscow sides Torpedo and Lokomotiv in addition to different provincial sides. He ended his profession in 2010 on the age of 29.

In September Bugayev was sentenced by a court docket in southern Russia to 9 and a half years in jail on drug trafficking costs.

He later declared his intention to enroll to battle within the Ukraine battle. Russian authorities actively recruit in prisons for the battle.

Some aviation consultants have stated the holes seen within the aircraft’s tail part after the crash point out that it might have come below hearth from Russian air protection techniques heading off a Ukrainian drone assault.

Mark Zee of OPSGroup, which displays the world’s airspace and airports for dangers, stated that the evaluation of the fragments of the crashed aircraft signifies a 90-99% chance that it was hit by a surface-to-air missile.

FlightRadar24 stated in a web based publish that the plane had confronted “strong GPS jamming” that interfered with flight monitoring information permitting it to watch the aircraft’s flight path. Russia has extensively used refined jamming gear to fend off drone assaults.

It’s unclear why the pilots determined to fly throughout the Caspian Sea as a substitute of attempting to land in Russia after the aircraft was hit, he stated, including that they most likely confronted restrictions on touchdown at a more in-depth venue and should have thought that the injury was not crucial.

In Azerbaijan, Caliber on-line newspaper additionally claimed that the airliner was fired upon by a Russian Pantsyr-S air protection system and in addition had its techniques affected by jamming gear because it was approaching Grozny.