The U.S. government suggested Friday that Russia may be to blame for this week’s deadly Azerbaijan Airlines crash, echoing experts’ assessment of the tragedy as investigations remain ongoing. Azerbaijan Airlines Flight 8243 was scheduled to travel from Baku,

The aircraft was flying from Azerbaijan's capital, Baku, to Grozny in Russia when it crashed in Kazakhstan. Reuters reported Thursday that Russia's air defenses were believed to have been involved, based on the preliminary findings of the investigation.