Kazakhstan Crash Mystery: Bird Strike, Weather, or Russia?

Was it a bird strike, adverse weather conditions, or Russia — What caused the Kazakhstan plane crash? The Azerbaijan Airlines plane crash that claimed the lives of 38 people has sparked widespread speculation, with Ukrainian officials now turning their attention to the possibility that Russia’s air defense systems may have been responsible.
Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov, however, said that it was inappropriate to speculate before the official conclusions were released as the investigations into the matter were ongoing.
While Ukraine outrightly blamed Russia for the crash, the latter said that the investigations into the matter were on. There were also reports of an oxygen cylinder explosion on the flight before the crash.
Few aviation experts have also pointed out the holes in the plane’s fuselage, and marks on the tail section, which are consistent with damage from shrapnel from missiles.

A video shared on X by Clash Report, a platform that covers military conflicts, revealed multiple large holes in the plane’s fuselage, ranging from small pinprick-like punctures to others several inches wide.

According to local reports, the State Commission, formed under the direction of Azerbaijan’s President Ilham Aliyev to investigate the plane crash, held its first meeting on Wednesday.

‘In one word – Russia’

The head of Ukraine’s national security and defense council’s center for countering disinformation blamed Russia for the crash. He claimed that Russians who reviewed the transcript of the crew’s conversations from the Baku-Grozny flight have admitted that the crash was caused by their air defense systems (ADS).

“Russians who reviewed the transcript of the crew’s conversations from the Baku-Grozny flight admit that ADS struck the Azerbaijan Airlines plane,” Andriy Kovalenko said as quoted by RBC Ukraine.
He also shared the images of the damaged aircraft system alleging that it was caused by “the explosion of an air defense missile with shrapnel.”
“During the flight, the fuselage was pierced, and the aircraft systems were damaged by the explosion of an air defense missile with shrapnel. Everything is well-documented and clearly captured,” he said.