Azerbaijani passenger plane was shot down by a Russian missile system, according to the head of the Center for Public Diplomacy.

Russians damaged an Azerbaijani passenger plane using a surface-to-air missile system. Subsequently, the aircraft crashed in Kazakhstan.

This was reported by RBK-Ukraine, citing the head of the Center for Counteracting Disinformation under the National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine, Andrey Kovalenko, on Telegram.

"This morning, an Embraer 190 belonging to the Azerbaijani airline, which was flying from Baku to Grozny, was shot down by a Russian missile system," Kovalenko noted.

He clarified that Russia was supposed to close its airspace over Grozny during a potential drone attack but failed to do so. As a result, the plane sustained damage and was directed to Kazakhstan instead of allowing it to land in Grozny and save lives.

The Plane Crash in Kazakhstan

Recall that today, December 25, a passenger plane of "Azerbaijan Airlines" crashed near the city of Aktau in Kazakhstan. According to Kazakhstan's Deputy Prime Minister Kanat Bozumbaev, this resulted in the deaths of 38 people.

As Bozumbaev noted, an investigation into the incident has been initiated, led by the General Prosecutor's Office and the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Kazakhstan.

Meanwhile, 29 people survived. They were hospitalized with various injuries.

As reported online, the plane may have been shot down while it was in Russian airspace. In particular, signs of the attack are visible on the tail section of the aircraft.