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The Azerbaijani Airlines plane that crashed on Dec. 25 en route to Russia may have been shot down by a Russian surface-to-air missile, according to reports from independent Russian media outlets.The aircraft, carrying passengers from Baku, Azerbaijan, to Grozny in Russia’s Chechen Republic, crashed near the coastal city of Aktau in Kazakhstan. There were 67 people on board the aircraft, including 42 Azerbaijani citizens, 16 Russians, six Kazakhs, and three Kyrgyz citizens. Thirty eight people have perished in the crash, according to the latest information. The potential use of air defense systems aligns with several media reports according to which Chechnya was attacked by drones on the morning of Dec. 25. Footage of the plane shows traces of a large surface-to-air missile impact on the tail section of the plane, according to Russian independent media outlet Meduza. Similar-looking holes in the fuselage have reportedly been documented in numerous images and videos of military and civilian aircraft downed by surface-to-air missiles.Survivors recalled hearing an explosion after failed landing attempts in Grozny, according to the independent Russian outlet Mediazona. The plane then turned back, crossing the Caspian Sea toward Kazakhstan. Upon attempting to land at Aktau Airport, it broke apart on impact and caught fire. Meduza and Mediazona also cited Russian pro-war Telegram channels which showed photographs of the crash that suggested the plane had been shot at.Russia’s Federal Air Transport Agency (Rosaviatsiya) initially claimed that the plane collided with a flock of birds, prompting the pilot to attempt an emergency landing. During the maneuver, the aircraft “hit the ground.”The black box has been recovered from the crash site, Azerbaijani media reported. Its analysis is expected to provide critical insights into the events leading up to the crash.How Kadyrov became so powerful, and why Chechnya remains vital for survival of Putin’s regimeIn December 1994, Russian troops launched a brutal and eventually unsuccessful military campaign against Chechen rebels, effectively beginning the First Chechen War. Thirty years later and two wars since, Chechnya, under strongman Ramzan Kadyrov, has become a key pillar of Russian President Vladimi…
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