Azerbaijan Airlines plane shot down by Russian Pantsir S1 missile — Ukrainian intel

Budanov said this in a comment to The War Zone.

“As far as we know, the jet was shot down by a Russian Pantsir S1 air defense system on Russian terrain,” he said.

Earlier, Euronews reported, citing sources in the Azerbaijani government, that the preliminary findings suggest a Russian missile over Grozny was the cause of the tragedy in Aktau. The missile, described as surface-to-air, was reportedly launched during drone activity over Grozny. Missile debris struck the passengers and crew, detonating near the aircraft.

An Azerbaijani government source also stated that the damaged plane was denied permission to land in Russian airports despite the pilots' requests for an emergency landing. The aircraft was instructed to continue flying across the Caspian Sea toward Aktau, Kazakhstan. Additionally, the plane's GPS navigation systems were reportedly jammed throughout its flight over the sea.

Later, Reuters, citing its own sources familiar with the investigation, also reported that the plane had been hit by Russian air defense.

One of the interlocutors from Azerbaijan said that preliminary results showed that the plane was shot down by a Russian Pantsir-S air defense system. According to him, communications on the plane were jammed by electronic warfare systems on the approach to Grozny.

"No one claims that it was done on purpose. However, taking into account the established facts, Baku expects the Russian side to confess to the shooting down of the Azerbaijani aircraft," the source said.

Three other sources confirmed this information.

• On the morning of December 25, a passenger plane crashed in Kazakhstan's Aktau. It was traveling from Azerbaijan's capital, Baku, to Grozny, Russia. The crash claimed the lives of 38 people. According to the Center for Strategic Communications of Ukraine, the plane was struck by a Russian air defense missile system.