Azerbaijan's president says crashed plane was shot down by Russia unintentionally

Vladimir Putin called the crash a 'tragic accident' that killed 38 of the 67 on board

Azerbaijan's President Ilham Aliyev and his wife Mehriban Aliyeva attend a funeral ceremony for Capt Igor Kshnyakin, co-pilot Alexander Kalyaninov, flight attendant Hokuma Aliyeva and other crew members of the crashed Azerbaijan Airlines Flight J2-8243, at Heydar Aliyev International Airport near Baku on December 29, 2024. ReutersShow less

Azerbaijan's President Ilham Aliyev said on Sunday that the Azerbaijani plane that crashed last week was shot down by Russia, albeit unintentionally. He, however, criticised Moscow for trying to "hush up" the issue for days.

"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,” Mr Aliyev told Azerbaijani state television.

He said that the aircraft, which crashed on Wednesday in Kazakhstan, was hit by fire from the ground over Russia and "rendered uncontrollable by electronic warfare." Mr Aliyev accused Russia of trying to "hush up" the issue for several days, saying he was "upset and surprised" by versions of events put forward by Russian officials.

“Unfortunately, for the first three days we heard nothing from Russia except delirious versions,” he said.

The crash killed 38 of 67 people on board. The Kremlin said that air defence systems were firing near Grozny, the regional capital of the Russian republic of Chechnya, where the plane attempted to land, to deflect a Ukrainian drone strike.

Mr Aliyev said Azerbaijan made three demands to Russia in connection with the crash.

“First, the Russian side must apologise to Azerbaijan. Second, it must admit its guilt. Third, punish the guilty, bring them to criminal responsibility and pay compensation to the Azerbaijani state, the injured passengers and crew members,” he said.

Mr Aliyev noted that the first demand was “already fulfilled” when Russian President Vladimir Putin apologised to him on Saturday. Mr Putin called the crash a “tragic incident" though stopped short of acknowledging Moscow’s responsibility.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told Russian state media on Sunday that Putin had spoken to Mr Aliyev again, but did not provide details of the conversation.

The Kremlin also said a joint investigation by Russia, Azerbaijan and Kazakhstan has begun at the crash site near the city of Aktau in Kazakhstan. The plane was flying from Azerbaijan’s capital, Baku, to Grozny when it turned towards Kazakhstan, hundreds of kilometres across the Caspian Sea from its intended destination, and crashed while attempting to land.

Passengers and crew who survived the crash told Azerbaijani media that they heard loud noises on the aircraft as it was circling over Grozny.

The wreckage of Azerbaijan Airlines Embraer 190 near the airport of Aktau, Kazakhstan, on December 25, 2024. Photo: Administration of the Mangystau Region via AP

Dmitry Yadrov, head of Russia’s civil aviation authority Rosaviatsia, said on Friday that as the plane was preparing to land in Grozny in deep fog, Ukrainian drones were targeting the city, prompting authorities to close the area to air traffic.

The crash is the second deadly civil aviation accident linked to fighting in Ukraine. Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 was downed with a Russian surface-to-air missile, killing all 298 people aboard, as it flew over the area in eastern Ukraine, controlled by Moscow-backed separatists in 2014.

Russia has denied responsibility, but a Dutch court in 2022 convicted two Russians and a pro-Russia Ukrainian man for their role in downing the plane with an air defence system brought into Ukraine from a Russian military base.