Azerbaijani FM: Russia must compensate for AZAL plane crash

Azerbaijan’s stance on the December 2024 crash of the AZAL flight near Kazakhstan's Aktau city remains firm and principled: it was caused by a Russian military error, Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Jeyhun Bayramov said.

Bayramov made the statement while visiting the Ana harayı (“Mother’s Cry”) memorial on the 34th anniversary of the Khojaly genocide, Caliber.Az reports via local media.

According to the Foreign Minister, Russia must fulfill the promises made by President Vladimir Putin during his meeting with Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev in October 2025.

“The plane was shot down due to an error by the Russian Ministry of Defence. Our expectations are that the Russian side will take all necessary actions, provide a legal assessment of the incident, and pay compensation,” Bayramov emphasised.

The Embraer 190 of Azerbaijan Airlines (AZAL), operating flight J2-8243 from Baku to Grozny, crashed on December 25, 2024, approximately 3 km from Aktau, Kazakhstan.

Preliminary investigation data indicate that as the plane approached Grozny, it was hit by a Russian Pantsir-S air defence system. Additionally, the aircraft’s communications were completely disrupted by Russian electronic warfare (EW) measures, causing it to disappear from radar over Russian airspace.

During the October 9, 2025, meeting in Dushanbe, President Putin acknowledged that the Russian air defence system had fired two missiles, which exploded and struck the Azerbaijani plane. He promised that Russia would provide full compensation and issue a legal assessment of all officials involved.

On board flight J2-8243 were 67 people — 62 passengers and five crew members — including 42 Azerbaijani citizens (37 passengers, five crew), 16 Russians, six Kazakh citizens, and three Kyrgyz citizens.

The crash resulted in 38 fatalities, while 29 people survived. Among the deceased were Captain Igor Kshnyakin, First Officer Alexander Kalyaninov, and flight attendant Hokyuma Aliyeva.

By Khagan Isayev