A UGC video from aboard the Embraer jet flying from Azerbaijan to Russia shows passengers wearing oxygen masks before the plane crashed near Aktau, Kazakhstan, on December 25. Visible wing damage is also captured.
Footage of the wreckage reveals possible shrapnel damage, prompting speculation that the Azerbaijan Airlines plane may have been hit by air defense systems over Chechnya.
Investigations into the crash, which killed 38 people, are ongoing.
Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov refrained from commenting on claims that an Azerbaijani plane crashed in Kazakhstan was shot down. Asked about the claims that the plane had been fired upon by air defense assets, Peskov told reporters that “it would be wrong to make hypotheses before investigators make their verdict.”