Ukraine's presidency on Friday said Russia should be held accountable for the deadly crash of an Azerbaijani passenger plane, after reports the jet was shot at by a Russian air defence missile.

The plane was diverted from Russia and had its GPS jammed before crashing in Kazakhstan, killing 38.

A total of 38 people died when an Azerbaijani aircraft crashed in Kazakhstan, Kazakh Deputy Prime Minister Qanat Aldabergenuly Bozymbaev said on Wednesday.

The first fatal accident anywhere in the world involving a passenger jet in 2024 happened on Christmas Day.Thirty-eight passengers and crew died when Azerbaijan Airlines flight J2-8243 from the airline’s hub at Baku to Grozny,

The deadly crash of Azerbaijan Airlines plane in Kazakhstan has been compared to the 2014 downing of Malaysian Airlines flight MH17 over Ukraine...

The flight was en route from the Azerbaijani capital of Baku to Grozny, in Russia’s south, when it diverted and attempted an emergency landing in Kazakhstan.

At least 38 people were killed in an Azerbaijan Airlines crash that was likely caused by Russian antiaircraft fire, according to Ukraine and aviation experts. Photo: Azamat Sarsenbayev/Reuters

The investigation on the crash of the Embraer E190 while attempting an emergency landing is still ongoing, however reports of a possible involvement of

"No one claims that it was done on purpose," an Azerbaijan official told Reuters. They added their government "expects the Russian side to confess."

Ukraine has claimed to have struck a Russian industrial facility producing fuel for missiles, as Moscow says it has foiled several assassination plots on senior officers. At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.

An Azerbaijan Airlines plane, which crashed in Kazakhstan on 26 December, was downed by a Russian surface-to-air missile system (SAM). Source: Andrii Kovalenko, Head of the Centre for Countering Disinformation at the National Security and Defence Council of Ukraine,

The Azerbaijan Airlines plane flew hundreds of miles off its scheduled route from Baku to Grozny, and crashed on the eastern shore of the Caspian Sea. Russia's aviation watchdog said a bird strike might have been the cause.