The Kremlin has declined to comment until the official investigation is complete
AFP
December 27, 2024, 6:10 PM
Last modified: December 27, 2024, 6:15 PM
A drone shot shows the crash site of an Azerbaijan Airlines passenger plane near the city of Aktau, Kazakhstan, December 25, 2024. REUTERS/Azamat Sarsenbayev
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A drone shot shows the crash site of an Azerbaijan Airlines passenger plane near the city of Aktau, Kazakhstan, December 25, 2024. REUTERS/Azamat Sarsenbayev
The head of Russia’s civil aviation agency said Friday that Ukrainian drones attacked the city of Grozny as an Azerbaijani Airlines plane tried to land there before later crashing in Kazakhstan.
Dmitry Yadrov also said on Telegram that there was heavy fog over Grozny when the incident took place on Wednesday and that “the conditions that day and in those hours around the airport were very complicated.”
“Ukrainian military drones carried out terrorist attacks on civilian infrastructure at the time,” Yadrov said, adding that the plane made two failed attempts to land.
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“The pilot was offered alternative airports. He made the decision to go to Aktau Airport in Kazakhstan,” he said.
Yadrov also said that Grozny airport had suspended arrivals and departures due to the Ukrainian drone strikes, but without specifying when this happened.
The Azerbaijan Airlines plane crashed in western Kazakhstan, killing 38 of the 67 people on board.
Several media reports have quoted Azerbaijani officials as saying they suspect a Russian air defense missile caused the crash.
The Kremlin has declined to comment until the official investigation is complete.