Azerbaijan Airlines’ Embraer 190 was en route from Baku to the Russian city of Grozny when it was diverted for reasons yet unclear and crashed while making an attempt to land in Aktau in Kazakhstan.

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

The news comes after a fatal crash involving the carrier’s Embraer E190 aircraft near the city of Aktau in Kazakhstan, killing 38 people.

Leaders exchange condolences, emphasize importance of maintaining transparency in investigation - Anadolu Ajansı

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.

Azerbaijan’s President Ilham Aliyev says the Azerbaijani airliner that crashed last week was shot down by Russia, albeit unintentionally.

Azerbaijan's President Ilham Aliyev said on Sunday that a civilian Azerbaijan Airlines (AZAL) aircraft, which crash-landed near Aktau, Kazakhstan, on Wednesday, was hit over Russia, though the incident was unintentional.

Aviation experts say that Russian air defense fire was likely responsible for the Azerbaijani plane crash the day before that killed 38 people and left all 29 survivors injured.