Azerbaijan to sue Russia over downing of Azerbaijan Airlines E-190

Azerbaijan is preparing to file an international lawsuit against Russia after an Azerbaijan Airlines Embraer E-190 crashed in December 2024, killing 38 people.

President Ilham Aliyev announced this during the Global Media Forum in Khankendi on July 19, 2025. He said that Russia has not provided any clear answers in the seven months since the crash.

“The circumstances of the incident are clear as day,” Aliyev said.

 “We know what happened, and we can prove it. More importantly, we believe Russian officials know the truth too,” he added.

Azerbaijan’s Prosecutor General has made several official requests to Russia’s Investigative Committee. So far, the only response has been that the investigation is still ongoing. Now, Azerbaijan is demanding a formal statement of responsibility from Russia, punishment for those involved, and full compensation for the victims’ families, the injured, and the lost aircraft.

“These are standard expectations under international law and good-neighbourly relations. […] The real question is: Why didn’t they do what any responsible neighbour would do?” Aliyev said.

The crash happened on December 25, 2024. The Embraer E-190, registered as 4K-AZ65, was flying from Baku to Grozny on flight J2-8243. The plane suddenly diverted over the Caspian Sea and crashed about five kilometers from Aktau International Airport in Kazakhstan.

The aircraft broke apart on impact. Among the dead were the Captain, the Co-pilot, a Senior Flight Attendant, and 35 passengers. Twenty-nine people survived.

An official report revealed signs of external damage along the fuselage, particularly at the rear of the plane. The damage was consistent with shrapnel from an anti-aircraft missile. These missiles do not need to hit the aircraft directly. Instead, they explode nearby and send metal fragments through the air to damage vital systems and cause the plane to crash.

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The President of Russia Vladimir Putin confirmed that Russian air defenses were active on the day of the crash. Azerbaijani investigators later reportedly recovered a fragment of a Pantsir-S missile from the wreckage.

The incident report stated that the aircraft was hit by “foreign objects” that were not part of the plane. Photos in the report showed several puncture holes on the left side of the tail. However, there was no evidence of a bird strike or internal malfunction.

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Russia has called the event a “tragic accident” but has not accepted any responsibility.The post Azerbaijan to sue Russia over downing of Azerbaijan Airlines E-190 appeared first on AeroTime.

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