INVESTIGATORS should check almost every plane crash for signs of potential sabotage from Vladimir Putin, Lithuania’s president has said.
Suspicions are growing across the globe that Russia may have played a role in the doomed DHL plane disaster as a probe into the tragedy continues.
XThe moment the plane erupts into a fireball in Lithuania[/caption]
ReutersThe plane crash comes amid serious fears over global Russian sabotage led by Vladimir Putin[/caption]
AFPLithuanian President Gitanas Nausėda says investigators should check almost every plane crash for signs of potential Russian sabotage[/caption]
President Gitanas Nausėda went to the wreckage of the burnt-out Boeing 737 today to speak to officials about their initial findings.
The horror crash left a 48-year-old Spanish pilot dead with three others also injured, Lithuanian cops confirmed.
Investigations have already faced major issues with the black box still not recovered and flight recorders yet to be found.
This has left the reasons for the crash still unknown amid fears Putin may have played a role in the deadly air disaster.
As of yet there is no known evidence of Russian meddling but many global figures have spoken out on the possibility needing to be checked.
Speaking after his visit to Vilnius, president Nausėda said: “Yesterday we observed both attempts to escalate this factor [sabotage] and to reduce it.
“I think that simply, such behaviour is not entirely responsible now, because we have too little information to do this.
“Perhaps, it should be acknowledged that Russia‘s actions, its destructive behaviour, will probably now force almost every air crash to be viewed primarily through this prism.
“That is, the possible intervention of Russian special services, through the possible version of these spontaneously combustible objects.
“Such is the state of Russia that its role in disasters of this scale will have to be considered in almost every case.”
Nausėda went on to stress that sabotage is a genuine concern for investigators and that it shouldn’t be ruled out as a reason for the crash.
Germany‘s chancellor Olaf Scholz has also publicly announced he is refusing to rule out Russian involvement.
German officials have been at the centre of the crash since it took place due to the jet first leaving from Leipzig.
Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock spoke about a potential hybrid attack which led to the plane’s demise.
She urged Lithuanian officials to “seriously” look into whether the crash was an accident or not.
Baerbock added that it shows once again how “volatile” things have become in the middle of Europe, as a potential growing conflict looms against Putin.
Chief of Lithuania’s Intelligence, Darius Jauniškis, vowed to look at all possible avenues as they investigate further.
Concerns over potential Russian interference across the world spiralled earlier this month when Western spy chiefs accused Putin’s agents of planting firebombs on cargo planes.
The dress rehearsal for mid-air mayhem comes amid several other incidents in Canada, Germany and even the UK in the last 12 months.
DHL-linked explosions across Europe
SECURITY officials fear Russia could be behind parcel explosions at depots in Europe as part of a plot to trigger explosions on cargo flights to the US.
Western governments believe Moscow could be behind a series of fires and acts of sabotage in Europe aimed at destabilising allies of Ukraine.
On July 22, a suspect package caught fire at a DHL depot in Minworth, Birmingham.
Also in July, fires broke out in a container due to be loaded onto a DHL cargo plane in the German city of Leipzig.
Meanwhile, a fire at a transport hub near Jablonow, near Warsaw, Poland took almost two hours to put out.
Polish police arrested four people – and claimed the suspected Russian arson attacks could have been a test run for future attacks on the US.
It is feared the fears were part of an orchestrated campaign organised by Russia’s military intelligence agency, the GRU.
Moscow, which denies being behind acts of sabotage is suspected to have been behind other attacks on warehouses and railway networks in EU member states this year – including in Sweden and in the Czech Republic.
Western nations including the UK, Britain, and the US, have repeatedly accused Russia of trying to sabotage nations providing military and financial aid to Ukraine.
It comes as terrifying CCTV footage captured the DHL plane plummeting towards the ground before erupting into a fireball.
The 31-year-old Boeing 737-400 clipped a two storey residential building in Lithuania at around 5:30am before crashing into a woodland.
The pilot is believed to have died almost instantly in the crash.
His co-pilot, a 34-year-old Spanish citizen, a 55-year-old German and a 34-year-old Lithuanian were all injured but are expected to survive.
Video shows the final few seconds of the aircraft’s horror fall as it hurtles through the morning sky as cars drive past on a nearby road.
The cargo plane can be seen quickly turning on its side before smashing into the towering block.
Sparks are instantly visible as moments later a giant blast erupts just miles out from Vilnius Airport where the plane was due to land.
The chilling final audio of the pilots involved in the tragic crash has also now been revealed with no alarm being raised at any point during the attempted landing.
The pilot can be heard saying as he descended: “Could you please confirm expecting ILS, I am not expecting ILS.”
An ILS – Instrument Landing System – helps pilots land safely in low visibility.
It was then given clearance to land before contact with controllers stopped as it vanished off radar and crashed.
APThe burnt-out wreckage of the DHL jet with the black box still missing[/caption]
XThe giant blast caused smoke to billow through the morning sky as fires burnt through the capitaL[/caption]
APThe blast was seen over Lithuania’s capital[/caption]
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