Russian missile brought down Azerbaijan Airlines plane: officials

Senior Azerbaijani officials have confirmed to Anadolu the validity of earlier media reports suggesting that an Azerbaijan Airlines plane crash near the Kazakh city of Aktau on Wednesday was caused by a Russian missile system.

This came after Azerbaijani media, citing government sources, reported that the preliminary results of the investigation into the incident determined that the plane was attacked by a Pantsir missile system as it approached the city of Grozny.

According to the report, the aircraft’s communication system was completely paralysed due to the use of Russian electronic warfare systems, which resulted in the plane disappearing from radars while in Russian airspace.

It added that the plane only reappeared in radars while it was in the area around the Caspian Sea.

The Kremlin has refused to comment on media reports.

But at a press briefing in Moscow on Thursday, spokesperson Dmitry Peskov urged everyone to wait for the end of an investigation launched by Kazakh authorities with the participation of a special task force from Azerbaijan.

"An investigation is currently under way, and any aviation incident should be probed by specialised aviation authorities. We need to wait for the end of this investigation. It would be wrong to build any hypotheses before the end of the investigation. And, of course, we cannot do this, and no one should do it," he stressed.

The official refused to speak about any aspects of the crash for fear of fueling rumours and speculations.

In a separate statement, Maulen Ashimbayev, chairman of Kazakhstan’s Senate, urged against drawing premature conclusions from footage of the plane that crashed on Wednesday near the Caspian city of Aktau, warning that some are trying to benefit from speculation.

"These are speculations and unfounded statements. And it's wrong to spread such statements, it's unethical, and it's an indicator that certain people want to earn certain dividends for themselves in this situation," he said.

Large holes on the tail of the plane sparked speculation that it had been brought down by an attack.

The holes, visible in footage from the crash site, appeared to have been caused by weapons fire, in the view of some online commentators.

The Azerbaijan Airlines flight with 67 people on board travelling from Baku to Grozny, Chechnya crashed on Wednesday near the Kazakh city of Aktau.

In the crash, 38 people were killed and 29 survived, according to Kazakh officials.

Thursday was declared as a day of national mourning in Azerbaijan.