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An Azerbaijan Airlines plane crash that resulted in 38 deaths was reportedly caused by a Russian air defense system, four sources with knowledge of the ongoing investigation confirmed to Reuters on Thursday (December 26).
Azerbaijan Airlines Flight J2-8243 went down near the city of Aktau in Kazakhstan on Wednesday (December 25) after diverting from an area in southern Russia where Kremlin forces recently had an air defense system designated to combat drone strikes from Ukraine. The Embraer passenger jet departed from Baku, Azerbaijan's capital city, and was scheduled to continue its path across the Caspian Sea before crashing on the opposite shore.
Russia's aviation watchdog initially referred to the crash as an emergency caused by a bird strike. Officials didn't explain why the aircraft crossed the sea where Ukrainian drone strikes hit Chechnya earlier this month while Russia's nearest airport on the flight path was closed Wednesday morning.
The plane was reportedly struck by a Russian Pantsir-S air defense system and its communications were stopped by the electronic warfare systems as it approached Grozny, a source with knowledge of the preliminary investigation confirmed to Reuters.
"No one claims that it was done on purpose. However, taking into account the established facts, Baku expects the Russian side to confess to the shooting down of the Azerbaijani aircraft," the source said.
Three other sources also confirmed that the Azeri investigation yielded the same results, though Russia's Defense Ministry didn't respond to Reuters' request for comment.