As Azerbaijan mourns the 38 people killed in the plane crash in Kazakhstan on Christmas Day, President Ilham Aliyev, in an interview on state television, detailed the cause of the crash and accused Moscow of trying to cover up the fact that the Azerbaijan Airlines plane came under fire from the Russian territory.

The Azerbaijani president stated a while ago that the Embraer 190 which crashed at Aktau was damaged outside over Russian territory, near the city Groznyand the pilot was in danger of losing control as the tail of the plane was badly damaged by ground fire.

In parallel, the electronic warfare systems that had been activated in the area, disabled many of the aircraft’s electronic systems.

The fact that the fuselage is full of holes proves, according to the Azeri president, that the theories that the plane was hit by a flock of birds or an oxygen tank exploded, circulated in the first hours by Russian circles, show an attempt at a cover-up, which now after the apology phone call by the Russian president, has no basis.

Aliyev said that the different versions of the events presented by Russia after the crash “clearly show that the Russian side tried to smother the case”.

“Admitting one’s guilt, apologizing in time and as long as it is useful for Azerbaijan, which is considered a friendly country, and informing the public about this matter, these are what should have been done,” the Azerbaijani president said.

However, Aliyev acknowledges that this is not a deliberate act of terrorism, but a tragic mistake.

At the same time, Volodymyr Zelensky reports that her aircraft Azerbaijan Airlines was targeted by the Russians, typically stating that the Ukrainian secret service has information, which it will share with its partners.

At the same time, he asked to put pressure on Moscow to stop lying about the matter.