Crashed plane in Kazakhstan was shelled from the ground - Azerbaijani President
An Azerbaijan Airlines plane that crashed in Kazakhstan was damaged on Russian territory due to ground fire, states Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev.
Aliyev discussed the reasons behind the crash of the Embraer 190 plane, which went down near the city of Aktau in Kazakhstan, during an interview with Azerbaijani television.
He emphasized that the final conclusions will be made after analyzing the black boxes. However, he noted that initial theories are also based on facts.
“The facts indicate that the Azerbaijani civilian plane suffered external damage while in Russian airspace, near the city of Grozny, and effectively lost control. We also know that our plane was rendered uncontrollable using electronic warfare measures. This was the first damage inflicted on the aircraft,” Aliyev stated.
The Azerbaijani president also claimed that ground fire severely damaged the tail section of the plane.
Azerbaijan Airlines plane crash
On December 25, a passenger plane crashed near Aktau, Kazakhstan. The Embraer 190 aircraft belonged to Azerbaijan Airlines.
At the time of the crash, 67 people were on board. The disaster claimed 38 lives, including the pilots.
Reports indicate the plane was en route from Baku to Grozny but failed to land in Chechnya. Russian air defense allegedly struck the passenger plane, forcing it to continue flying until reaching Kazakhstan.
According to Kyrylo Budanov, head of Ukraine’s Defense Intelligence Directorate, the passenger plane was shot down by a Russian “Pantsir-S1” air defense system. This claim has also been supported by analysts and Western media.
Russia denies responsibility for downing the passenger plane and is attempting to avoid accountability. More details about the crash can be found in the RBC-Ukraine report.
