Azerbaijani authorities believe the Azerbaijan Airlines plane that crashed in Kazakhstan, killing 38 people, was shot by a Russian anti-aircraft missile, multiple reports said on Thursday. The Turkish state news agency Anadolu cited anonymous senior state officials in Azerbaijan as saying the plane was hit by a missile on Wednesday.

Multiple shrapnel holes in the plane’s fuselage and its altitude at the time of incident contradict the bird theory. Azerbaijan accused Russia of hitting the passenger jet with a missile. The pilot did not decide to fly to Aktau;

The President of Azerbaijan, Ilham Aliyev, demanded compensation from Russia for the Azerbaijan Airlines plane crash in Kazakhstan, reports the APA agency. The President of Azerbaijan, Ilham Aliyev, demanded compensation from Russia for the Azerbaijan Airlines aircraft that crashed on Wednesday in Kazakhstan.

Azerbaijani authorities believe the crash of an Azerbaijan Airlines plane in Kazakhstan that killed 38 people was caused by a Russian surface-to-air missile, several media reported Thursday. The jet was en route from the country's capital Baku to the city of Grozny in Chechnya, southern Russia, on Wednesday but crashed near Aktau in Kazakhstan.

The plane was diverted from Russia and had its GPS jammed before crashing in Kazakhstan, killing 38.

Putin apologized for the “tragic incident” that occurred in Russian airspace, but the Kremlin did not take responsibility for downing the Azerbaijan Airlines flight.

General Kyrylo Budanov from Ukrainian military intelligence claims that an Azerbaijan Airlines Embraer-190 was shot down over Russia, resulting in at least 38 deaths. The Embraer-190 belonging to Azerbaijan Airlines crashed near the city of Aktau in western Kazakhstan.

The White House said Friday there were "early indications" that Russian air defenses downed an Azerbaijan Airlines flight in Kazakhstan.