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CNN International: Sources Say Russian Air-Defense System Caused an Azerbaijani Airlines to Crash; Former Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh Dies at 92; Israeli Strike in Yemen Kill 4 People. Aired 14-14:30p ET

Aired December 26, 2024 - 14:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

[14:00:00]

BIANNA GOLODRYGA, HOST, CNN NEWSROOM: Hello, everyone, I'm Bianna Golodryga, you are watching CNN NEWSROOM. The U.S. is now weighing in as questions swirl over the deadly Christmas crash of an Azerbaijan Airlines plane in Kazakhstan. A U.S. official tells CNN, early indications suggest the plane may have been downed by a Russian anti- aircraft system.

At least, 38 people on board were killed in the disaster, and remarkably, there are 29 survivors. CNN's Nada Bashir is tracking the aftermath as both investigators and families search for answers.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

NADA BASHIR, CNN REPORTER (voice-over): This is the moment an Azerbaijani plane attempted an emergency landing, bursting into flames upon impact. Rescuers rushed to the scene, extinguishing the fire that engulfed the front of the plane and pulling out dazed survivors from the wreckage.

Out of 67 people on board, including crew, at least 38 died. Remarkably, 29 people, including two children, survived and were taken to hospitals. Questions swirled on why the plane, which took off from the Azerbaijani capital, Baku, en route to Grozny in Russia, diverted to Kazakhstan. Flight radar 24 shows the plane flying across the Caspian Sea and circling in the Kazakh City of Aktau.

Before the crash, in a pattern, an aviation expert says indicates loss of flight control systems. The crash came shortly after drone strikes hit southern Russia. And while investigators say they are exploring all scenarios, multiple Azerbaijani sources have told "Reuters" that the plane was hit by Russian air defenses.

Video verified by "Reuters" reveals a rare glimpse into the last moments on board the flight. Oxygen masks down as the camera tilts to the window, showing damage to the wing. Then, in another geolocated social media video, the plane appears to nosedive. In the resulting explosion, the plane fuselage is broken into parts with its rear-half miraculously landing almost intact, but upturned.

Parts of the plane scattered across a wide radius. Bodies seen covered in blue blankets. Russia and Azerbaijan evacuated their injured citizens as families in Baku waited to see if their loved ones had survived. For Azerbaijan, it is a time of mourning. Nada Bashir, CNN, London.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

GOLODRYGA: Let's go straight to Oren Liebermann. As noted, Oren, U.S. officials are now weighing in on this tragedy. And why do some at least suspect that perhaps this plane was shot down by a Russian military air defense system?

OREN LIEBERMANN, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: The U.S. is still being very careful with what it says about the cause of the crash, and we have not seen an attribution or an open statement about the cause of the crash from President Joe Biden or Jake Sullivan, the National Security adviser. But we are now hearing from a U.S. official that the cause of the crash may have been a Russian air defense system.

That would be the first statement we've seen from the U.S. about what may have led to the downing of this Azerbaijan Airlines commercial jet, passenger jet, in which at least, dozens of the 67 people on board were killed as a result of this crash, according to Kazakh authorities. Now, that U.S. official also says this points to the poor training of Russian units and Russian air defenses, and their complete ineffectiveness and essentially the lack of care they put in in their dealing with Ukrainian drone attacks.

Now, that's a noteworthy statement coming from U.S. officials, because the crash happened just after a Ukrainian drone attack on southern Russia on this area. And it seems to indicate that it was from what the U.S. is seeing, Russian air defenses that may well have shot down this Azerbaijan Airlines passenger jet.

Now, it is worth noting, not the first time we have seen something like this. It was ten years ago that a Russian air defense system used by Russian-backed units in eastern Ukraine shot down Malaysian Airlines flight 17, MH17.

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So, there is a precedent, or at least an example of something very similar happening in the past. Of course, this happened just one day ago. The U.S. still gathering information on -- at this point. But according to the initial indications of what happened that led to the downing of this Azerbaijan Airlines aircraft, it may well have been a Russian air defense system that led to the crash.

Now, there's still an open question about exactly what type of system it was, whether it was a long-range, advanced air defense system like an S-300 or an S-400, or whether it was a short-range or medium-range system that was right there near this system, near the Grozny area.

So, that remains to be seen here. But again, early indications according to a U.S. official are that, it was a Russian air defense system that downed this passenger jet. Russia, for its part, has said it may have been bird strikes. The Russian Federal Air Transport Agency said there are indications that it was bird strikes. That is, it is worth noting, a bit hard to believe. We have seen video

from the aircraft and holes on the side of the aircraft. Bird strikes don't hit the side of a plane, they hit its front or its engines.

GOLODRYGA: All right, Oren Liebermann, thank you so much. For more on this, I want to bring in our safety analyst, David Soucie, who is also a former FAA safety inspector. David, it's good to see you again. So, I should note that speculation about the cause of this crash yesterday was swirling around just this, that it could have actually been a Russian military air defense system that brought down the plane.

You and I didn't speak about this yesterday because there wasn't much sourcing signaling that. But now, 24 hours later, it does appear that at least, this is a credible hypothesis behind what brought this plane down. Talk about the significance of that and how investigators can perhaps confirm that, that was the cause, given some of the images that we've seen online to damage to the plane.

DAVID SOUCIE, CNN SAFETY ANALYST: Yes, Bianna, yesterday, we did talk about the fact that they were saying it was a bird strike at first, and we just didn't see that this flight profile matched that at all. And now, it makes more sense to me in investigating this. And now, we also have this video.

So, if we look at -- I've been reviewing the video and the photographs that we had from the MH17 accident, which was years ago, but in that case, there were larger holes that went through the aircraft. So, in trying to determine what caused this or what it was, I looked into why these holes would be different now than they were with the MH370 -- excuse me, with the MH17.

And it makes sense now because they've been upgraded, these missiles now, the Pantsir S is a missile that has smaller projectiles that come out with it. They're more designed for drones and that sort of thing. So, it's more likely in my mind now after analyzing these photographs and some of the information about how the aircraft flew and how it hit the ground, it makes a lot more sense to me now that it was indeed some type of missile or attack from the side of the aircraft, not from the front.

GOLODRYGA: And the flight path of the plane in the minutes prior to crashing has also raised some speculation as to the cause as well, and perhaps some of that can be answered once investigators really dig into the black box itself of the plane. But just the flight path and perhaps why it didn't land immediately in Grozny, but then was somehow diverted to Kazakhstan. What do you make of that?

SOUCIE: Well, the diversion, I think, had to do with the fact that the closest airport that was there for them to land at was closed yesterday, and so, they had to make an alternate -- take the alternate airport. And this must have been their alternate airport as to why they went to the other location.

As far as the flight path goes, typically if it was a bird strike or a power issue only, the aircraft would still fly straight. It would just have a lot of ups and downs, a lot of altitude drops and a lot of rises. And that we see in this aircraft -- but we also see this left and right motion, the uncontrollability of the aircraft.

And you would tie that to more of a flight control failure of some kind, which these missiles are designed to do that with the small projectiles, the shrapnel goes in and damages hydraulic systems, hydraulic pumps, various things that control that aircraft. So, it would be more in line in my mind that this type of flight pattern, the erratic left and right and lack of control.

And you could see it's not very well lined up on the runway at all as he was coming in as well. So, that would indicate to me that there was a loss, at least minimal loss of flight control systems and perhaps a total loss of flight control at the end.

GOLODRYGA: Will we be able to get definitive answers as to the cause of this crash once the Black Box is fully evaluated and investigated.

SOUCIE: Absolutely, yes. The evidence on site is pretty convincing for me already because you have things coming in, folding the metal in on one side and folding the metal out on the other, which would indicate that, that projectile went through the aircraft.

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So, there's pretty convincing evidence at that point, but the Black Boxes will be able to verify what happened to the flight control systems, whether the pumps were still working, whether or not the pressure inside of those hydraulic control systems were working. So, there's a lot of information we can still get from the Black Boxes. And I'm sure that we'll get that pretty quickly, because those are already in the hands of the authorities now.

GOLODRYGA: Yes, and as we noted yesterday, Azerbaijan, the authorities there opened a criminal investigation, which you said was routine. Any time there is an incident like this as opposed to the -- here in the United States, but now perhaps that there is speculation and more evidence that this could have actually been downed by Russian military air defense system. That only ups the ante in terms of where this investigation leads. David Soucie, thank you so much for joining us.

SOUCIE: Of course, thank you.

GOLODRYGA: Well, this news just in to CNN, former Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has died. Singh was known as the reluctant king when he became Prime Minister in 2004, because he never aspired to such a lofty government position. He started his career as an economist and was widely praised for modernizing the Indian economy and lifting hundreds of millions of people out of poverty.

He was the country's first Sikh Prime Minister and served two terms. Manmohan Singh was 92. Well, there are the pictures that made the world pause. Still ahead, a photo editor from the "New York Times" will join us to discuss the images that marked 2024.

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GOLODRYGA: Health officials in Gaza say four babies whose families are living in tents have frozen to death over the past week. The head of pediatrics at Nasser Hospital says it's one of the disastrous results of what he calls Israel's criminal war. Authorities at another hospital say an Israeli strike killed five journalists overnight, as you can see, the back of their vehicle was marked press when it was hit.

Now, Israel confirmed the strike, saying that it targeted Islamic Jihad militants posing as journalists. Israel also carried out strikes in Yemen today, hitting the international airport in Sanaa as well as military facilities. Houthi-run media says at least four people were killed, the strikes come after a series of Houthi attacks against Israel.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says Israel is determined to root out what he calls a branch of terrorism from the Iranian axis of evil. So, let's bring in Elliott Gotkine in Jerusalem for more. And Elliott, while there's no comparison between the strength and ability of the Houthis relative to Hamas and especially Hezbollah, this has proven to be a thorn in Israel's side over the past few months, constantly the launch of drones from the Houthis.

Some have actually gotten into Israeli territory. Netanyahu today says that Israel is just getting started in "Channel 14" interview.

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That is, of course, the network that is deemed more press-friendly to him. What more are we learning from the government in terms of their response now?

ELLIOTT GOTKINE, JOURNALIST: Bianna, this isn't the first time Israel has responded. And as Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu outlined just a short-while ago, this won't be the last. I mean, over the last 4 out of 7 to 10 nights, the Houthis have lobbed ballistic missiles towards Tel Aviv in the middle of the night, sending millions of people scurrying towards bomb shelters, including, I should say, myself and my 11-year old daughter when I was in Tel Aviv on Saturday night.

That particular one got through Israel, Israel's multi-layered missile defense systems and landed in a sandpit in a park in the southern part of Tel Aviv. But while most of those drones or missiles have been intercepted, just like Saturday night's one, some have got through. A drone, a few months ago wasn't even detected, didn't even set off sirens and killed one person in Tel Aviv when that one got through.

And really, as far as Israel is concerned, you know, it's been battering Hamas for the best part of the year. It has managed to win a ceasefire by battering Hezbollah in Lebanon. And as far as Israel is concerned, the Houthis in Yemen seem to be the kind of the last leg standing from Iran's -- what Netanyahu describes as Iran's axis of evil.

But of course, it is quite far away. It's about a thousand miles away. And so, although Israel has the ability to carry out attacks as it did today on the international airport in Sanaa, and also on a couple of power stations as well, it's not as simple as carrying out attacks against Hezbollah just over the border in Lebanon or indeed in Gaza, of course, which is an enclave effectively surrounded on three sides by Israel and one side by Egypt.

So, Netanyahu says this will continue. The Houthis, for their part, say that in their words -- and this was tweeted out by one of the Houthi accounts. If the Zionist enemy thinks that its crimes will stop Yemen supporting Gaza, then it is delusional because let's not forget, the Houthis began firing on Israel and also on international shipping.

One of the most important shipping lanes in the world in the wake of the Hamas-led terrorist attacks of October the 7th, saying that we're doing so in solidarity with the Palestinians in Gaza. Bianna?

GOLODRYGA: Yes, and it's not just the Israelis who have been launching strikes against the Houthis as well. It's the United States, especially given the damage that they have done to that shipping route as well. Elliott Gotkine, good to see you, I'm glad that you and your daughter are OK. Thank you.

Well, as 2024 comes to an end, we're taking a look at the most captivating pictures of the year. Images such as this by photographer Doug Mills when then U.S. candidate for President Donald Trump was shot at during a campaign rally in Pennsylvania back in July. The "New York Times" put together a series called "2024: the Year in Pictures", featuring photos that just took our breath away.

These powerful moments and stories were captured by photographers covering global events. And joining us now is "New York Times" photo editor Jeffrey Scales, who worked on the special edition. Jeffrey, good to see you. We always look forward to these specials where we really get a look back every year at the pictures that stood out to us, that made news around the world.

It's one thing to have brilliant journalists putting into words what they're seeing. But seeing the images themselves are quite stunning. And let's start with a few that you'd like to talk about. Let's go in sequential order. Let's start with the most recent. So, the destroyed neighborhood of Jobar in Syria on Thursday, December 12th that we're showing right now.

This was just days after the fall of Bashar al-Assad. Really stunning. The world -- talk about this image and what we're seeing here.

JEFFREY SCALES, PHOTO EDITOR, THE NEW YORK TIMES: Well, thanks for having me. And this was, I thought, a very powerful image that was taken by Nicole Tung, one of our regular freelance photographers working in conflict zones. But, you know, seeing that level of destruction that the -- that had happened in that neighborhood, and then you have the birds flying in the sky above it, it's kind of maybe a hopeful metaphor, perhaps, you know, for the end of the Assad regime.

And, you know, it's kind of the terror that was happening to those communities and those people. But I thought it was a beautifully-done image.

GOLODRYGA: Yes, especially with those birds, not a person in sight, not a vehicle in sight, and there you see the ruins of a country that has just been crippled by a civil war that lasted nearly a decade. Let's turn to this photo of a nine-year-old Palestinian boy who lost both of his hands after being hit by a missile from Israeli warplanes in the war that's now entering its second year here.

And this is a photo that was taken actually in Doha, Qatar, where I believe this young boy received more medical treatment. Speak to what we're seeing.

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SCALES: Yes, this was a series -- from a series of photos that our photographer Samar Abu Elouf had made in Doha, and she's a Palestinian photographer that lived in Gaza, that shot for us last year. But it was an amazing series of people who had been injured and had lost eyes, lost legs. But it was very powerful portraiture and just dramatic lighting and just, you know, just showing it as it is, you know, in the real effects of war that can be devastating.

GOLODRYGA: Yes, I'm sure is --

SCALES: Very powerful work --

GOLODRYGA: Always the children and innocent that seem to suffer most in all wars on all sides, frankly. Let's talk about --

SCALES: Yes --

GOLODRYGA: The other hot war that's happening right now into its third year, sadly, and that is the war in Ukraine. And you have a photo here from the Donbas region. And this is an artillery unit of the 95th separate Air Assault Brigade firing a howitzer at Russian troops trying to capture the city.

And really just speaks to the resilience of the Ukrainian Armed Forces with the help of U.S. military equipment. Three years now into a war where in the early days, Jeffrey, Russia had assumed they'd capture Kyiv within a matter of days or weeks.

SCALES: Yes, I know, it's an amazing picture by our staff photographer, Tyler Hicks, who is one of the world's leading conflict photographers, and he's been in Ukraine off and on for the last three years. But the kind of up-close and in-the-trenches-kind of view you get with this particular photograph, and then you have the sun, you know, coming through in the background there, and just as that howitzer is just blasting off the artillery shell.

It's an amazing moment and an amazing photograph. And just to -- you know, the courage of these photographers in these conflict zones just never fails to amaze me.

GOLODRYGA: And you see the sunlight right behind there as well. It is, I dare to say, a beautiful photo. I mean, covering a war that, you know, wars -- the antithesis of beauty, but quite an image indeed. Let's now focus on more U.S.-based photos, and that is U.S. politics and the election where Donald Trump surprised many, I would say by winning not only the popular vote, but also the fact that he's now once again entering a second term in office, and his supporters, they'll say they knew this was going to happen all along.

So, you have a photo here of some of his supporters from election night. Let's talk about what we're seeing here. That just look like a bunch of young men sitting around who have been -- they're in their business suits here. But what do these men symbolize?

SCALES: Well, it was -- it was, you know, the night of the election, and this is sort of the men, young men that have been pushing Trump a lot. And it was in West Palm by a photographer, Mark Peterson, just sort of the row of these guys sitting there in, you know, the MAGA hats, it was just -- was so very powerful kind of image that was shot for our opinion section.

I just thought it was, you know, an amazing image. It's just like a moment, a really -- moment very well crafted by the photographer.

GOLODRYGA: Yes, and then we have in our final few seconds here, Kamala Harris supporters, and that night as well, their faces tell a different story. Here they are holding American flags. What do you see when you see this photo?

SCALES: Well, this picture by Damon Winter, another photographer in our opinion section. This was actually the next day at Kamala's concession speech in Washington. But, you know, sort of the disappointment and the patriotism of her supporters. I thought that -- this photo really captured that beautifully.

And again, the photographer's eye, the photographer's composition and getting that moment just perfectly. It was a very powerful, very beautiful photograph by Damon Winter.

GOLODRYGA: Yes, no doubt as if -- as all these photos are, it's very difficult to whittle it down to just a few, Jeffrey, but hey, I suggest everyone go online and see all of them. They have so many stories, important stories to tell over this past year. Jeffrey Scales, thank you so much, appreciate your time.

SCALES: All right, thanks for having me.

GOLODRYGA: And we'll be right back.

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GOLODRYGA: Today marks 20 years since the Indian Ocean tsunami, one of the deadliest disasters in modern history. About 230,000 people were killed across the region, from Indonesia to Somalia. In Indonesia's Aceh Province, the worst-hit area. Hundreds of people gathered for moments of silence and prayers, mourners laid flowers on gravestones. And in Thailand, flowers were placed at the tsunami memorial wall in

the country's hardest-hit province where the tsunami claimed more than 5,000 lives. Many tourists were on vacation there at the time. And in India, fishing communities and victims' families lit candles and offered flowers to pay tribute to the many lives lost there.

A massive wave was triggered by a 9.1 magnitude earthquake off Indonesia's coast. Two decades later, communities have been rebuilt, but families still feel the impact of the devastation and the loss. Well, hundreds of skiers looking to hit the slopes in the French alps on Christmas eve were left stranded in mid-air.

Instead, an apparent electrical failure on a chairlift caused the malfunction. Most of the skiers were brought down to the ground on ropes, but a helicopter was used for some of the rescuers. No injuries were reported -- wow. That's one of my worst nightmares right there. Thanks again for watching CNN NEWSROOM. That does it for us this hour, I'm Bianna Golodryga, coming up, "GENERATION UZBEKISTAN", "GENERATION" next.

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