Plane that crashed in Kazakhstan was shot down by Russian air defence system – Ukraine's Centre for Countering Disinformation

An Azerbaijan Airlines plane, which crashed in Kazakhstan on 26 December, was downed by a Russian surface-to-air missile system (SAM).

Source: Andrii Kovalenko, Head of the Centre for Countering Disinformation at the National Security and Defence Council of Ukraine, on Telegram

Quote: "Azerbaijan Airlines’ Embraer 190 aircraft, which was flying from Baku to Grozny, was shot down by a Russian SAM."

Details: Kovalenko said that Russia was obligated to close the airspace over Grozny but failed to do so.

Quote: "The plane was damaged by Russians and sent to Kazakhstan instead of being urgently landed in Grozny to save lives."

Background:

• On Wednesday, 26 December, an Embraer aircraft operated by Azerbaijan Airlines, flying from Baku to Grozny, crashed near Aktau, the administrative center of the Mangystau region in Kazakhstan. Azerbaijan Airlines reported that there were 67 people on board, including 5 crew members: 42 Azerbaijani citizens, 16 Russians, 6 Kazakhs and 3 Kyrgyz nationals.
• Kazakhstan’s KazAeroNavigation suggested that the crash occurred due to a hitting a bird and the subsequent malfunctioning of the steering system. Russian media speculated that the plane might have changed its course due to a drone attack threat in Chechnya, where Grozny was reportedly targeted by several UAVs, triggering a Kovyor emergency plan at the city’s airport. [A Kovyor plan is an airport operational safety procedure for airport services and personnel when an unidentified object appears in the sky – ed.]
• Kanat Bozumbayev, Kazakhstan’s Deputy Prime Minister and head of the state commission investigating the crash, said that 38 people died in the crash.

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