Investigation Confirms Russian Missile as Cause of Azerbaijan Airlines Crash in Kazakhstan

The Azerbaijan Airlines plane crash in Aktau on Wednesday was caused by a Russian surface-to-air missile, sources within the Azerbaijani government confirmed exclusively to Euronews on Thursday, December 26.

The sources revealed that the missile was launched at Flight 8432 amid drone activity over Grozny, with shrapnel striking passengers and cabin crew as it detonated near the aircraft mid-flight.

Additionally, government sources informed the agency that, despite the pilots' requests for an emergency landing, the damaged aircraft was denied permission to land at any Russian airport and was instead directed to fly across the Caspian Sea to Aktau, Kazakhstan.

The missile that struck the aircraft was launched from a Pantsir-S air defense system, according to Azerbaijani government sources cited by the Baku-based international outlet AnewZ.

On December 25, an Azerbaijan Airlines Embraer 190 aircraft crashed in western Kazakhstan. Kazakh authorities said 38 people were killed in the crash. Originally flying from Baku to Grozny, the flight was first redirected to Makhachkala, Dagestan, due to fog, before being diverted again to Aktau, Kazakhstan.