AZAL disaster: The plane was damaged due to ground fire, according to Aliyev.

The aircraft of Azerbaijan Airlines that crashed in Kazakhstan had sustained damage on Russian territory. The plane was hit by ground fire.

This information was reported by RBC-Ukraine, citing Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev, as quoted by Report.

Aliyev spoke to Azerbaijani television about the causes of the crash of the Embraer 190, which fell near the city of Aktau in Kazakhstan.

He noted that the final version of the accident will be known after analyzing the "black boxes." However, according to him, initial versions are also based on facts.

"The facts are that the Azerbaijani civilian aircraft was damaged externally on Russian territory, near the city of Grozny, and almost lost control. We also know that our plane was put into an uncontrolled state by electronic warfare means. This is the first damage inflicted on the aircraft," said Aliyev.

The President of Azerbaijan also stated that the tail section of the plane was severely damaged due to fire opened from the ground.

Aliyev emphasized that Azerbaijan demands from Russia "an acknowledgment of guilt, punishment of those responsible, and compensation."

"One of the aspects that upset and surprised us was that Russian official bodies proposed versions about an explosion of some gas cylinder. This clearly indicated that the Russian side wants to cover up the issue, and this, of course, does not bring honor to anyone," he stated.

Azerbaijan Airlines Plane Crash

Recall that on December 25, a passenger plane crashed in Kazakhstan near the city of Aktau. The Embraer 190 belonged to Azerbaijan Airlines.

At the time of the accident, there were 67 people on board. As a result of the crash, 38 people died, including the pilots.

It is known that the plane was on a flight from Baku to Grozny but was unable to land in Chechnya. The Russian air defense shot down the passenger plane, causing it to reach Kazakhstan.

According to the head of the Main Intelligence Directorate of the Ministry of Defense, Kyrylo Budanov, the passenger plane was shot down by the Russian air defense system "Pantsir-S1." This is also confirmed by analysts and Western media.

Russia does not acknowledge that it shot down a passenger aircraft and is trying to evade responsibility. More details about the plane crash can be found in the RBC-Ukraine article.