Russian President Vladimir Putin has released a statement after four sources claimed the devastating plane crash on Christmas Day was caused by ‘a Russian air defence system’.
On December 25, an Azerbaijan Airlines aircraft – Flight J2-8243 – crashed off the coast of the Caspian Sea while flying from Azerbaijan’s capital Baku to Grozny, capital of the Chechnya region in southern Russia.
‘Four sources in Azerbaijan with knowledge of the investigation’ told news agency Reuters the plane was ‘downed by a Russian air defence system’.
The jet – carrying 67 passengers – was allegedly shot down after being diverted from ‘an area of Russia in which Moscow has used air defence systems against Ukrainian drone strikes in recent months’.
Sky News also reported US military sources hold similar suspicions.
And Russian President Vladimir Putin has since released a statement following the crash – of which 38 people are reported dead.
On the President of Russia’s website, a statement was released titled: “Telephone conversation with the President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev.”
The plane crashed on December 25 (ISSA TAZHENBAYEV/AFP via Getty Images)
The release alleges a phone conversation was initiated by Russia between Putin and Aliyev in which the pair discussed ‘issues related to the crash of the Azerbaijan Airlines passenger plane on December 25 near the city of Aktau in Kazakhstan’ and that they talked ‘in detail’.
The statement continues: “Vladimir Putin apologized for the fact that the tragic incident occurred in Russian airspace, and once again expressed deep and sincere condolences to the families of the victims, wishing a speedy recovery to the injured.
“During the conversation, it was noted that the Azerbaijani passenger aircraft, which was strictly on schedule, repeatedly attempted to land at the Grozny airport. At that time, Grozny, Mozdok and Vladikavkaz were attacked by Ukrainian combat unmanned aerial vehicles, and Russian air defense systems repelled these attacks.”
A criminal case under Article 263 of the Criminal Code (violation of traffic safety rules and operation of air transport) is reported as having been opened by the Investigative Committee of Russia.
Vladimir Putin has since released a statement (Contributor/Getty Images)
The statement says ‘civilian and military specialists are being questioned’ during the ‘initial investigative actions’ which are currently ‘underway’.
It resolves: “Currently, two employees of the Prosecutor General’s Office of Azerbaijan are in Grozny, where they are working together with representatives of the Prosecutor General’s Office and the Investigative Committee of the Russian Federation.
“The relevant services of Russia, Azerbaijan and Kazakhstan are also closely cooperating at the site of the disaster in the Aktau region.”
The plane that crashed off the coast of the Caspian Sea was gunned down by Russia, according to four sources in Azerbaijan told Reuters.
At least 38 of the 67 people onboard the Azerbaijan Airlines aircraft died while en route from Azerbaijan’s capital Baku to Grozny, capital of the Chechnya region in southern Russia.
A view of the crash site where an Azerbaijan Airlines flight with 67 people on board, traveling from the Azerbaijani capital Baku to Grozny in Russia’s Chechnya region, crashed near the Kazakh Caspian city of Aktau on December 25, 2024 the Kazakh Emergency Ministry said, adding that there were 25 survivors (Emergency Situations of Kazakhstan/Anadolu via Getty Images)
However it would sadly fail to make it to its destination and crashed on Wednesday morning (December 25).
According to Kazakh officials, the people on board were citizens of four different countries, 42 Azerbaijani citizens, 16 Russian citizens, 6 Kazakh citizens, 3 Kyrgyz citizens.
Now, the news agency Reuters has reported that it spoke with ‘four sources in Azerbaijan with knowledge of the investigation’ who claimed that the plane ‘was downed by a Russian air defence system’.
The Embraer 190 passenger jet was allegedly shot down after it diverted from ‘an area of Russia in which Moscow has used air defence systems against Ukrainian drone strikes in recent months’, the agency writes.
However, Russia’s aviation watchdog said that the plane suffered a bird strike which resulted in an emergency situation on the aircraft, and it was also reported that it had to divert from its original route due to heavy fog and was intending to make an emergency landing.
President Aliyev also said: “According to the information provided to me, the AZAL airline plane, flying on the Baku-Grozny route, changed its course due to worsening weather conditions and began heading toward Aktau airport, where the crash occurred during landing.”
On the day, the nearest Russian airport, Makhachkala, was closed.
A view of the crash site where an Azerbaijan Airlines flight with 67 people on board, traveling from the Azerbaijani capital Baku to Grozny in Russia’s Chechnya region, crashed near the Kazakh Caspian city of Aktau on December 25, 2024 the Kazakh Emergency Ministry said, adding that there were 25 survivors (Emergency Situations of Kazakhstan/Anadolu via Getty Images)
In a statement, Azerbaijan Airlines said it would keep members of the public updated and changed its social media banners to solid black. It also said that it would suspend flights between Baku and Grozny, as well as between Baku and the city of Makhachkala in Russia’s North Caucasus, until its investigation into the crash has been concluded.
NATO, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization which was created back in 1949 by the United States, Canada, and several Western European nations to provide collective security against the Soviet Union, has called for a full investigation into the cause of the plane crash.
Heartbreaking footage has emerged of the Azerbaijani plane which crashed on Christmas Day, killing 38 people.
The flight from Azerbaijani capital Baku to the Russian city of Grozny in the North Caucasus was diverted and the plane attempted to make an emergency landing 3km from Aktau.
Speaking at a news conference, Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev said: “The information provided to me is that the plane changed its course between Baku and Grozny due to worsening weather conditions and headed to Aktau airport, where it crashed upon landing.”
It’s unclear what caused the pilot to attempt an emergency landing, but Russia’s aviation watchdog said preliminary reports suggested it may have been a bird strike, CNN reports.
According to Kazakh officials, those aboard the plane included 42 Azerbaijani citizens, 16 Russian nationals, six Kazakhs and three Kyrgyzstan nationals.
At the time of writing, 27 passengers are reported to have survived the devastating ordeal, while 38 lost their lives.
The Azerbaijan Airlines flight had 67 people on board (Emergency Situations of Kazakhstan/Anadolu via Getty Images)
Because the plane burst into flames when it crashed, the deceased were discovered ‘in poor condition’.
Kazakhstan’s Deputy Prime Minister Kanat Bozumbayev said: “The bodies are in poor condition, mostly burnt, all collected.
“Now they will be in the morgue, and identification will take place.”
Of the survivors, only one remains unidentified.
“She is unconscious, has no documents, and is in the hospital,” Bozumbayev said of the woman in question.
Mobile phone footage circulating online of the fatal crash appeared to show the aircraft making a steep descent before smashing into the ground in a fireball.
Other footage showed part of its fuselage ripped away from the wings and the rest of the aircraft lying upside in the grass.
The footage corresponded to the plane’s colours and its registration number.
Flight-tracking data from FlightRadar24.com showed the aircraft making what appeared to be a figure eight once nearing the airport in Aktau, its altitude moving up and down substantially over the last minutes of the flight before impacting the ground.
FlightRadar24 separately said in an online post that the aircraft had faced ‘strong GPS jamming’, which ‘made the aircraft transmit bad ADS-B data’, referring to the information that allows flight-tracking websites to follow planes in flight.
Russia has been blamed in the past for jamming GPS transmissions in the wider region.
The remains unclear what caused the fatal crash (Issa Tazhenbayev/Anadolu via Getty Images)
Azerbaijan’s state news agency, Azertac, said that an official delegation of Azerbaijan’s emergency situations minister, the deputy general prosecutor and the vice president of Azerbaijan Airlines were sent to Aktau to conduct an ‘on-site investigation’.
Meanwhile, Kazakhstani, Azerbaijani and Russian authorities have announced that they are investigating the crash as well.
