AZERBAIJAN HAS CONFIRMED THAT A RUSSIAN MISSILE SHOT DOWN PLANE IN KAZAKHSTAN. (PHOTO).

 Azerbaijan  has Confirm that a Russian Missile Shot Down Plane In Kazakhstan plane

A passenger aircraft belonging to Azerbaijan Airlines crashed near the Kazakh city of Aktau after being targeted by Russian air defense, according to Euronews.

Azerbaijani government officials report that the plane was struck by a surface-to-air missile launched by Russian forces.

Sources speaking to Euronews indicate that the missile was fired while the aircraft was flying over Grozny, where drone activity had been observed. The missile detonated near the plane, causing shrapnel to injure both passengers and crew.

Additionally, sources from the media reveal that the damaged aircraft was denied permission to land at Russian airports when the pilots requested an emergency landing. Instead, they were instructed to continue flying over the Caspian Sea toward Aktau.

Euronews also discovered that the plane's GPS navigation system was disrupted for the entire duration of the flight over the sea.

Subsequently, images surfaced online showing damage to the aircraft's exterior caused by shrapnel.

In light of these events, Andrii Kovalenko, the head of the Center for Countering Disinformation at Ukraine's National Security and Defense Council, stated that the plane was downed by a Russian anti-aircraft missile system. He noted that this incident occurred because Russian authorities failed to close the airspace over Grozny during the drone attack on the city.