NATO Calls for Investigation into Azerbaijani Plane Crash Amid Suspicions of Russian Involvement

NATO has expressed condolences following the Azerbaijan Airlines flight J28243 incident. “Our thoughts and prayers are with the families and victims,” NATO spokesperson Farah Dakhlallah stated in a post on X on Thursday. She also called for a thorough investigation and wished a speedy recovery to those injured in the crash.

In response, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov urged caution, advising against premature conclusions. “We need to wait for the investigation to conclude,” Peskov remarked on Thursday.

The official explanation provided by Russia’s aviation authority claims that the aircraft struck a flock of birds, forcing it to redirect to Aktau. However, skepticism around this account has emerged, particularly as photographs of the damaged fuselage reveal signs of shrapnel-like punctures.

Reports by multiple outlets, including Russian independent news platform Meduza, Reuters, and Azerbaijan’s Caliber, suggest the plane may have been hit by a Russian air defense missile. These sources link the incident to an area where Moscow has been active in countering Ukrainian drones in recent weeks. According to Caliber, Azerbaijani officials revealed the plane was denied emergency landing access at three nearby Russian airports and was instead directed to cross the Caspian Sea to Kazakhstan.

Supporting the missile theory are reports of a concurrent drone attack on Grozny, the capital of Chechnya. Khamzat Kadyrov, Chechnya’s Security Council Secretary and nephew of Ramzan Kadyrov, briefly confirmed the drone event on Instagram before deleting the post. Meanwhile, Andrii Kovalenko, the head of Ukraine’s Center for Countering Disinformation, accused Russia of failing to close Grozny’s airspace during the operation. He claimed the incident could have been avoided, stating, “The plane was damaged by the Russians and was sent to Kazakhstan, instead of making an emergency landing in Grozny to save lives.”

If Russia did mistakenly shoot down the plane, the incident would draw parallels to the 2014 Malaysia Airlines Flight MH17 tragedy. In that case, a Russian missile downed the plane over eastern Ukraine, killing all 298 passengers. A Dutch court later convicted two Russian agents and a separatist leader in absentia for their role in the disaster.

Of the passengers aboard flight J28243, 29 survived the crash. However, the investigation remains ongoing, with international attention increasingly focused on uncovering the truth.