Azerbaijan President Claims Russian Ground Attack Caused Plane Crash

Baku (Eurotoday) – Azerbaijan President Ilham Aliyev says the crash of a plane in Kazakhstan was caused by a Russian ground strike, reports say.

Azerbaijan President Ilham Aliyev was reported on 29 Dec 2024 by Azerbaijan state television to have said that striking from the ground in Russia had damaged the passenger plane which crashed in Kazakhstan, killing 38 people.

Reuters quotes Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev, stating that “some circles” of Moscow tried to hide facts about the crash of an Azerbaijan Airlines aircraft by sowing wrong narratives on the circumstances of the plane crash.

Earlier yesterday, on 28 December, Russian President Vladimir Putin apologized to Azerbaijan’s President Ilham Aliyev over the “tragic incident,” but refused to make a comment on whether Russia was partially responsible for the disaster. Putin delivered condolences to the families of the victims, as well as good hopes for an early recovery for all the people hurt.

December 25, 2024, Over the town of Aktau in Kazakhstan a disastrous air crash with Azerbaijan Airlines; the accident took place on December 25, 2024. Flight number: J2-8243 Flying Embraer 190 aircraft; the flight was carrying 67 people including 62 passengers and 5 crew members. It was leaving Baku to Grozny, Russia.

It had a crash 3 km away from Aktau Airport on its way to land. Witnesses claim that the aircraft had been going down very rapidly before it touched the ground and caught fire. Preliminary reports indicate that the flight had been diverted due to severe fog at Grozny. Victims also include Azerbaijanis, Russians, Kazakhstanis and one Kyrgyz besides at least 38 dead in the two pilots and one flight attendant.