The preliminary results of Azerbaijan’s investigation into the deadly crash of a civilian airliner point to the plane being hit by a Russian antiaircraft missile, or shrapnel from it, said people briefed on the probe.

The flight was en route from the Azerbaijani capital of Baku to Grozny, in Russia’s south, when it diverted and attempted an emergency landing in Kazakhstan.

( NewsNation) — A former NATO ambassador says Russia will likely never take responsibility for striking down an Azerbaijan Airlines plane that crashed in Kazakhstan on Christmas Day, killing 38 of the 67 people on board.