Azerbaijan President Ilham Aliyev stated on Sunday (December 29) that an Azerbaijan Airlines plane was damaged and lost control after being shot down by Russia on December 25, leading to a tragedy. He mentioned that some in Russia have lied about the cause of the plane crash, and he hopes Russia will acknowledge responsibility for the incident.
The day before Aliyev made his comments on Sunday, Russian President Putin apologized to the Azerbaijani President for the “tragic incident” that occurred in Russian airspace. He explained that the incident happened as part of Russia’s active repelling of Ukrainian drones.
However, the Kremlin’s statement did not explicitly confirm that Russia shot down the plane, only mentioning that a criminal case had been opened.
Aliyev told official Azerbaijani media on Sunday, “The fact is, this Azerbaijani civilian aircraft suffered external damage while flying over Russian territory near Grozny and almost lost control. We also know that our aircraft lost control due to electronic warfare systems.”
“Unfortunately, in the initial three days, we only heard absurd versions coming from Russia,” Aliyev said, pointing out that Russia initially claimed the plane crash was caused by a bird strike or some kind of gas cylinder explosion.
The Azerbaijani leader, who has close ties with Russia and was educated at a top university in Moscow, stated, “We have witnessed an obvious attempt to cover up the truth of this matter.”
“Of course, our aircraft was accidentally hit. There was no deliberate act of terrorism here.”
While Aliyev acknowledged that the plane was accidentally shot down, he emphasized the need for Russia to admit responsibility for downing the aircraft and punish those accountable for causing the fatal damage to the plane.
The Azerbaijani President’s office stated that after the unexplained incident in Russian airspace, the pilots struggled to control the aircraft and desperately searched for a landing point.
Due to holes in the fuselage, some crew members were injured, and passengers prayed in the depressurized cabin as the aircraft went out of control, ultimately crashing in a forced landing over the Caspian Sea.
The President’s office further mentioned, “It was only thanks to the courage and professionalism of the pilots that the emergency landing was successful.”
The air disaster resulted in 38 fatalities, with 29 survivors.
Earlier on Sunday, Azerbaijan honored the pilots and crew members. The landing method chosen by the pilots allowed 29 people on board to survive, but it led to their own deaths. This act was praised in Azerbaijan.
Captain Igor Kshnyakin and First Officer Alexander Kalyaninov, who are both Russian nationals with Azerbaijani citizenship, along with crew member Hokuma Aliyeva, were awarded a full set of honorary medals at a ceremony held in Honor Alley in Baku city center. President Aliyev and his wife Mehriban attended the ceremony.
The plane was flying from the Azerbaijani capital Baku to Grozny in southern Russia’s Chechnya region, then veered hundreds of miles over the Caspian Sea before crashing in Kazakhstan.
Captain Kshnyakin’s daughter, Anastasia Kshnyakina, described her father as a dedicated pilot who took his responsibility for passengers very seriously.
“My father always said: When I take off, I am not only responsible for my own life, but also for the lives of all passengers and crew members,” Kshnyakina said. “He proved what a true hero is with his last flight.”
(This article is a reference to reports from Reuters.)