Azerbaijan says crashed plane was shot at from Russia, accuses Kremlin of hiding facts

Azerbaijan’s president Ilham Aliyev has alleged that the plane that crashed in Kazakhstan, claiming 38 lives, was shot down by Russia, albiet not “intetionally”. Aliyev accused Moscow of attempting to “hush up” the cause of the crash which took place earlier this week, insisting Russia should admit its “guilt” in the disaster.
“The facts are that the Azerbaijani civilian plane was damaged from the outside over Russian territory, near the city of Grozny, and almost lost control. We also know that electronic warfare systems put our plane out of control,” Aliyev told state media, as quoted by news agency AFP.
“We can say with complete clarity that the plane was shot down by Russia. (…) We are not saying that it was done intentionally, but it was done,” he further added.
Aliyev said that instead of apologising for the incident, Russia spent three days offering “delirious versions” of what had happened.
“Admitting guilt, apologising in a timely manner to Azerbaijan, which is considered a friendly country, and informing the public about this –- all these were measures and steps that should have been taken,” he said.
“Unfortunately, for the first three days we heard nothing from Russia except delirious versions,” the Azerbaijani President added.
The statement came on Sunday, a day after Russian president Vladimir Putin apologised to Aliyev for the incident but stopped short of taking responsibility.

Aliyev previously informed Putin that the aircraft experienced “external physical and technical interference” while flying over Russian airspace. According to the Azerbaijani presidential office statement, “President Ilham Aliyev emphasised that the Azerbaijan Airlines passenger plane encountered external interference in Russian airspace, leading to a complete loss of control.”
Some Azerbaijani officials reportedly indicated that a Russian air defence missile might have caused the crash. In contrast, other accounts speculated about Ukrainian involvement or attributed the crash to an accident, such as a bird strike.

What is known about the crash?

The plane, an Embraer 190 operated by Azerbaijan Airlines, was en route from Baku, Azerbaijan, to Grozny, Russia, when it unexpectedly diverted toward Kazakhstan, hundreds of kilometres across the Caspian Sea from its intended destination.
The aircraft crashed while attempting to land near Aktau, Kazakhstan, after flying east for hundreds of kilometres. The crash occurred about 3 kilometres from the coast, and cellphone footage appeared to show the plane descending sharply before hitting the ground and exploding in a fireball. Despite the tragic incident, 29 survivors were rescued and rushed to hospitals.
Following the crash, Azerbaijan’s government initiated an investigation, with international experts now probing the event, although no further details have been provided. Azerbaijan’s Prosecutor General confirmed that investigators are working in Grozny. On Friday, both a US official and an Azerbaijani minister blamed the crash on an external weapon, with aviation experts pointing to Russian air defence systems possibly reacting to a Ukrainian attack.