Exclusive: Russian Missile Behind Azerbaijan Airlines Crash

In a shocking turn of events, sources from the Azerbaijani government have confirmed that a Russian surface-to-air missile was responsible for the crash of an Azerbaijan Airlines flight on Wednesday.

This confirmation sheds new light on the tragic incident that occurred near Aktau, Kazakhstan, killing at least 38 people. This marks the second commercial aircraft crash linked to Russian military forces in a decade, the first being the downing of Malaysia Airlines Flight MH17 in 2014.

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Flight J2-8243, traveling from Baku to Aktau, was struck by a Russian missile while flying over Grozny, Russia. The missile exploded near the aircraft, causing shrapnel to hit passengers and the cabin crew.

Despite the pilots’ requests for an emergency landing at Russian airports, the plane was denied permission and ordered to divert across the Caspian Sea to Kazakhstan, where it tragically crashed near Aktau. The plane went down in a ball of fire, leaving a scene of devastation.

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As the flight journeyed over the Caspian Sea, data showed that the aircraft’s GPS navigation systems were jammed. Russian sources later confirmed that their air defense forces were actively targeting Ukrainian drones in the region at the time of the incident. This suggests that the missile strike was a part of military operations aimed at intercepting these drones.

The crash resulted in the deaths of 38 people, including two pilots and a flight attendant. Among the 67 people on board, 29 survived, including two children.

The passengers were primarily from Azerbaijan, Russia, Kazakhstan, and Kyrgyzstan. Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev has launched a criminal investigation into the incident as more details emerge.