Azerbaijan Airlines flight J2-8243 caught fire as it tried to make an emergency landing in Aktau, southwestern Kazakhstan, on Wednesday. It was traveling from the Azeri capital Baku to Grozny, the capital of the Russian republic of Chechnya.

The Embraer 190 was traveling to Grozny, Russia, but crashed near Aktau, Kazakhstan, killing 38 people onboard. Investigators are focusing on Russian air defense as the likely cause.

Some aviation experts have said the holes seen in the plane’s tail section after the crash indicate that it could have ... Both Putin and Aliyev said Saturday that experts from Russia, Azerbaijan and Kazakhstan had begun probing the incident, and were ...

Azeri President Ilham Aliyev says Vladimir Putin’s apology isn’t enough, in a confrontation that shows Moscow’s waning influence over former Soviet territories.

The crash of an Azerbaijani airliner in Kazakhstan has killed 38 of 67 people on board. Azerbaijan Airlines’ Embraer 190 was en route from Azerbaijani capital Baku to the Russian city of Grozny in the North Caucasus on Wednesday when it was diverted for reasons that aren’t fully clear yet.

On the morning of December 25, 2025, an Embraer 190 passenger aircraft of Azerbaijan Airlines (AZAL) crashed near Aktau in western Kazakhstan while en route from Baku to Grozny. The exact cause remains unclear,

"We can clearly say today that the plane was shot down by Russia," President Ilham Aliyev said in a televised statement

Russian President Vladimir Putin apologized for the plane crash in Russian air space on Christmas Day that left 38 people dead in a statement that said Russia was targeting Ukrainian drones over the plane’s planned destination at the time, but stopped short of taking responsibility.

The probe into the Azerbaijan Airlines crash in Kazakhstan is examining the conduct of air traffic controllers after the aircraft encountered difficulty, a source said.