Azerbaijan claims Russia downed plane in Kazakhstan

The Azerbaijan Airlines plane that crashed in Kazakhstan on December 25 was accidentally shot down by Russia, according to Azerbaijan’s President Aliyev. He stated to the state broadcaster, “We are not saying it was intentional, but it did happen.” The aircraft was en route from Baku, Azerbaijan’s capital, to Grozny in Russia’s Chechen Republic.

The incident resulted in the deaths of 38 out of 67 passengers. President Aliyev criticized Russia for attempting to cover up the incident and accused it of spreading “ludicrous theories” about the cause in the initial days following the crash.

He demanded that Russia apologize and acknowledge responsibility, and called for those accountable to be punished. The Kremlin confirmed that Putin discussed the incident with the Azerbaijani president.

Putin has met the first demand by offering apologies for the “tragic incident” in Russian airspace, although he did not specify the cause of the crash. The Kremlin indicated that anti-aircraft defenses were active in the area at the time to counter Ukrainian drones, without mentioning whether the Azerbaijani plane was hit.

Aliyev stated the plane was fired at from the ground, and passengers had previously reported hearing external explosions. He noted that the investigation is ongoing, and clarity will be provided once the black boxes are examined.

Source: NOS

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