An Azerbaijan Airlines passenger jet en route from Baku to Grozny was downed in an area hosting multiple Russian military installations equipped with air defense systems.

According to the investigative project "VChK-OGPU," the incident occurred over the Naursky District of Chechnya, home to several military units. Based on the analysis of communications between air traffic control and the flight crew, the pilot initially mistook the powerful impact for a collision with a flock of birds. However, the aircraft's damage strongly suggests that a missile, likely launched by an air defense system, exploded near the plane.

Documents revealed by the channel suggest that this incident took place approximately 18 kilometers north-northwest of Grozny's airport, over Naursky District, at an altitude of 2.4 kilometers.

Publicly available reports indicate that this region houses multiple military units, including those operating air defense systems. Back in 2011, the Chechen news outlet "Chechnya Today" published an article praising new defense technologies capable of monitoring the airspace across the North Caucasus.

The article noted that the motorized rifle brigade stationed in Naursky District, under Russia's Ministry of Defense, had recently acquired a then-new air defense command system called Barnaul-T.

Additionally, in response to recent drone attacks, several "Pantsir" missile systems were reportedly deployed in Chechnya.

Plane Crash in Kazakhstan

On December 25, an Azerbaijan Airlines Embraer E190AR passenger jet carrying dozens of people crashed in the city of Aktau, western Kazakhstan. Out of the 67 passengers on board, 38 lost their lives.

The remaining 29 individuals, including two children, are currently hospitalized. Among them, 11 are in critical but stable condition, while the others are in moderate condition.

Speculations about a potential missile strike arose after video footage of the wreckage showed clear perforations consistent with such damage. This theory was also voiced by Andriy Kovalenko, head of Ukraine’s Center for Countering Disinformation under the National Security and Defense Council:

"Russia should have closed the airspace over Grozny but failed to do so. The aircraft was damaged by Russian forces and directed to Kazakhstan instead of being urgently landed in Grozny to save lives," Kovalenko stated.

You Might Also Be Interested In:

• Critical power line between Estonia and Finland goes offline: what we know

• Podolyak on Kazakhstan plane crash: A tragedy and a war crime by Russia

• Christmas Day shelling of Ukraine: Biden comments on the attack and orders action from the Pentagon