Zelenskyy expresses condolences to Azerbaijan over Azerbaijan Airlines plane crash: facts show Russia’s responsibility for tragedy
President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has expressed his condolences to Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev and the Azerbaijani people over the crash of the Azerbaijan Airlines flight.
This is stated in a statement by the head of state on the social network X, Censor.NET reports.
Zelenskyy said that more and more details of the crash of the Azerbaijan Airlines flight are emerging.
"My condolences to Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev and the Azerbaijani people. Every human life is valuable, and every loss of life deserves a thorough investigation to establish the truth," the Head of State said.
The President noted that the photos and videos from the crash site eloquently testify to Russia's responsibility for the tragedy.
In addition, Zelenskyy drew parallels between the crash of Azerbaijan Airlines and the crash of flight MH17, shot down by a Russian Buk missile system in Donbas in July 2014.
"If Russia continues to spread lies, just as it did in the case of the downing of MH17, it will be necessary to consolidate all international pressure on Moscow so that the truth is established and the perpetrators are brought to justice," the head of state said.
Azerbaijan Airlines plane crash in Kazakhstan
On 25 December, an Embraer plane en route from Baku to Grozny, Russia, crashed near the Kazakh city of Aktau.
38 people died as a result of the downing of the Azerbaijan Airlines plane. According to one version in the media, the plane could have been hit by air defence systems over the territory of the Russian Federation.
According to media reports, a Russian surface-to-air missile caused the crash of an Azerbaijan Airlines plane in Aktau.
Defense Intelligence Chief Kyrylo Budanov says that the Azerbaijan Airlines plane was shot down by Russia's Pantsir-S1 air defense system.
Azerbaijan expects Russia to officially recognize the downing of the passenger plane, Reuters reports.
The spokesman for the Russian dictator Dmitry Peskov refused to comment on the information about Russia's involvement in the crash of the Azerbaijan Airlines passenger plane in Kazakhstan.
