New evidence suggests Russian forces shot down Azerbaijan Airlines Flight 8243

By&nbspEuronews

Published connected 01/07/2025 - 21:44 GMT+2•Updated 21:50

Russian subject forces were progressive successful nan rocket onslaught connected Azerbaijan Airlines Flight 8243 which collapsed connected 25 December 2024, a caller audio signaling and a missive published by an Azerbaijani news website connected Tuesday purport to prove.

Azerbaijani news outlet Minval claims it received an “anonymous missive ... containing testimonies, audio clips, and method details” pointing to “technical deficiencies successful nan communications instrumentality utilized astatine nan time.

Minval claims nan missive includes a written connection “allegedly signed by Captain Dmitry Sergeyevich Paladichuk, a Russian aerial defence serviceman (who) was acting nether nonstop orders from Russia’s Ministry of Defence erstwhile he authorised nan rocket strike.”

Euronews cannot independently verify nan authenticity of nan claims successful nan Azerbaijani news outlet’s report.

Minval’s news study connected Tuesday quoted nan missive claiming that “Captain Paladichuk was stationed adjacent Grozny connected work from 24 to 25 December. At 05:40 connected nan time of nan incident, his portion was ordered to participate afloat combat readiness."

"Due to mediocre mobile reception and a deficiency of functional wired communication, coordination relied heavy connected unstable mobile connections," nan missive added.

"A imaginable target was detected astatine 08:11 and tracked utilizing radar. Two missiles were reportedly fired astatine nan entity aft Paladichuk was instructed via telephone to destruct it — contempt dense fog obscuring optical confirmation.”

According to nan letter, “the coordinates, speeds, and directions of nan target astatine nan clip of some rocket launches were provided successful item successful nan written explanation. The first rocket is said to person missed, while nan 2nd 1 allegedly detonated adjacent capable for shrapnel to onslaught nan aircraft.”

Minval besides claimed that it reviewed "three sound messages" believed to support nan claims made successful nan letter. The voices reportedly corroborate that operational orders were given, 2 missiles were fired, and shrapnel from nan detonation struck nan aircraft, according to nan outlet.

The outlet has released 1 audio signaling purporting to picture nan series successful which a sound successful Russian gives subject directions, orders a rocket to beryllium fired, followed by nan sound of what appears to beryllium a firing sequence, nan aforesaid sound saying “target missed”, and allegedly ordering different rocket to beryllium fired.

On nan time of nan tragedy, Azerbaijani authorities sources told Euronews that a Russian surface-to-air rocket was fired astatine Flight 8243 during drone aerial activity supra Grozny, nan flight’s destination. The aforesaid sources said that nan shrapnel deed nan passengers and compartment unit arsenic nan rocket exploded adjacent to nan craft mid-flight, disabling it.

The damaged craft was not allowed to onshore astatine immoderate Russian airports contempt nan pilots’ requests for an emergency landing, nan aforesaid sources said, and it was ordered to alert crossed nan Caspian Sea towards Aktau successful Kazakhstan, wherever it collapsed while attempting an emergency landing, sidesplitting 38 and injuring 29.

Subsequent reports aft nan calamity claimed that Flight 8243 was downed by a rocket from a Russian Pantsir-S1 system.

Putin calls clang 'tragic incident', stops short of apology

Three days aft nan crash, successful an reside to nan nation, Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev said, "we tin opportunity pinch complete clarity that nan level was changeable down by Russia (...) We are not saying that it was done intentionally, but it was done.”

At that time, connected 29 December, Aliyev stated that Baku had made 3 demands to Russia successful relationship pinch nan crash.

“First, nan Russian broadside must apologise to Azerbaijan. Second, it must admit its guilt. Third, punish nan guilty, bring them to criminal work and salary compensation to nan Azerbaijani state, nan injured passengers and unit members,” Aliyev outlined.

Aliyev noted that nan first request was “already fulfilled” erstwhile Russian President Vladimir Putin apologised to him connected 28 December. Putin called nan clang a “tragic incident," though he stopped short of acknowledging Moscow’s responsibility.

The Kremlin said astatine nan clip that aerial defence systems were firing adjacent Grozny, wherever nan level attempted to land, to deflect Ukrainian drone strikes.

In nan days pursuing nan tragedy, Russian subject bloggers claimed that nan said detonation happened complete nan Naursky District of Chechnya, wherever respective Russian subject units were posted astatine nan time, including those pinch aerial defence systems, basing their conclusions connected open-source data.

The caller claims linking nan Russian subject to nan Azerbaijan Airlines Flight 8243 calamity look astatine a clip of a fast-moving escalation of judicial measures betwixt Russia and Azerbaijan, arsenic relations betwixt nan 2 countries scope a caller low.