Azerbaijan president says crashed plane shot at from Russia

Summary

Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev accused Russia of shooting at the Azerbaijan Airlines plane that crashed in Kazakhstan on December 25, killing 38 people and injuring 29.

Aliyev claimed the plane was damaged by ground fire and electronic warfare systems near Grozny, dismissing Russian explanations like bird strikes or gas cylinder explosions as “absurd.”

This follows Vladimir Putin’s apology, which Aliyev criticized as inadequate.