An Azerbaijan Airlines plane that crashed in Kazakhstan, killing 38 people, was shot down by Russian air defenses. Following Euronews, this information was reported by Reuters, which cites four sources.
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As per an Azerbaijani source, the initial results of the investigation indicate that the plane was shot down by a Russian Pantsir-S air defense system. The source stated that the plane’s communications were paralyzed by electronic warfare systems as it approached Grozny.
“No one claims that it was done on purpose. However, taking into account the established facts, Baku expects the Russian side to confess to the shooting down of the Azerbaijani aircraft,” the source said.
Three additional sources confirmed to Reuters that the Azerbaijani investigation had reached this preliminary conclusion.
The passenger plane, traveling from the Azerbaijani capital Baku to Grozny, the capital of Chechnya in Russia, on December 25, veered hundreds of kilometers off course, overshot the Caspian Sea, and crashed in the Kazakh city of Aktau.
The Russian aviation authority stated that the crash was likely caused by a bird strike but did not explain why the plane crossed the sea.
The Russian Defense Ministry did not respond to Reuters’ inquiries, while Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told the media that “It is wrong to build hypotheses” before the investigation is complete.
Earlier, Euronews reported, citing its own sources within the Azerbaijani government, that a Russian missile had brought down the Azerbaijan Airlines passenger plane. The publication claimed the missile was fired at the plane while drones were active over Grozny. The missile exploded near the plane, causing damage. The plane was reportedly denied permission to make an emergency landing at any Russian airport and was directed to continue flying over the Caspian Sea to Aktau.
A total of 67 people were on board the Embraer 190 - 62 passengers and 5 crew members. Thirty-eight of them died. According to the Azerbaijani Ministry of Health, 25 of the deceased were Azerbaijani citizens.
