Downed Russian Military Aircraft; 'All Possibilities Are Being Considered'

Investigators are looking into the downing of a Russian Defense Ministry Tupolev and say the definitive cause of the aircraft's crash is still unclear, and they are not ruling out any possibilities, including a terrorist attack. Maxim Sokolov, Russia's Minister of Transport, recently stated in response to a question about the possibility of a terrorist attack that investigators 'are not excluding any possibilities and are examining all options.' CBS News reports that these remarks contradict earlier statements that dismissed the likelihood of a terrorist attack. Fox News, citing several experts, mentions that factors such as the lack of a report on technical issues and the wreckage being spread over a relatively wide area of the sea make it impossible to rule out a terrorist attack. However, reports indicate that extensive and tight security measures are in place in the Sochi area, and the Defense Ministry's aircraft was under heavy security supervision. Currently, the possibility that anyone survived the crash is described as impossible; there were a total of 84 passengers and 8 crew members on the Tupolev 154, which was en route to a Russian airbase in Latakia for New Year's celebrations. Many of the deceased were members of the Alexandrov Ensemble of the Russian Army, a globally renowned group that was set to perform for Russian soldiers in Syria. Russia is one of the main supporters of Bashar al-Assad's government in the Syrian civil war. Minister Sokolov stated that by the end of Sunday, 11 bodies had been retrieved from the Black Sea. The RT television network quoted the ministry as saying that the operation to find the victims' bodies may take longer than initially expected. Sokolov reminded that the aircraft did not have the usual signal transmitters found in modern planes, making it 'a challenging task' to locate the exact crash site. In this context, all 92 occupants of the Russian aircraft heading to Syria 'have been killed.'