Crashed AZAL plane was shot down by Russian air defense, media reports say

Preliminary findings from the investigation into the recent crash of an AZAL passenger plane in Kazakhstan suggest that the aircraft was shot down by a Russian air defense system.

Report informs, citing Caliber.az which refers to its own sources, that the AZAL plane flying from Baku to Grozny was attacked by a Russian Pantsir-S air defense system as it approached the city of Grozny.

Moreover, the use of electronic warfare systems by the Russian side allegedly paralyzed the Azerbaijani aircraft's communication system, causing it to disappear from radars in Russian airspace and only reappear over the Caspian Sea.

Notably, Russian sources themselves indicate that at the time of the incident, Russian air defenses were attempting to shoot down Ukrainian drones over Chechnya.

Hamzat Kadyrov, head of the Chechen Republic's Security Council, confirmed the drone attack on Grozny on the morning of December 25, stating that there were no casualties or damage. In such a case, the Russian side was to close its airspace to civilian aircraft, which it failed to do, raising questions about why a no-fly zone was not declared over Chechnya.

The Grozny airport reportedly denied landing permission to the AZAL plane, and the aircraft was also refused permission to land at airports in Makhachkala and Mineralnye Vody.

The disoriented crew, having been fired upon by air defenses and affected by electronic warfare systems, was redirected to the Kazakh city of Aktau. It can be speculated that this recommendation was given with the intention of having the plane crash into the Caspian Sea, killing all witnesses and sinking the aircraft, though this remains a supposition.

Video recordings from inside the plane show that two passengers were injured by shrapnel, and all eyewitness accounts, including reports of explosions heard outside the aircraft, point to the involvement of air defense systems.

For the Azerbaijani side participating in the investigation, the situation is absolutely clear. While no one is claiming that this was done intentionally, given the established facts, Baku expects the Russian side to admit to shooting down the Azerbaijani aircraft, officially apologize to the Azerbaijani people, and conduct a full investigation, resulting in the prosecution of all those responsible.