Did Russian air defences bring down Azerbaijan jet?

An Embraer E190 belonging to Azerbaijan Airlines crashed near Aktau, Kazakhstan, with the loss of 38 lives. The Brazilian-built aircraft, 4K-AZ65 (c/n 19000630), had been operating flight J28243 from Baku/Heydar Aliyev to Grozny, Russia, on December 25, 2024, with 67 passengers and five crew members onboard. According to Azerbaijan transport minister Rashad Nabiyev, as the General Electric CF34-powered jet approached Grozny, it entered thick fog and made two attempts to land. During the third attempt, several explosions are reported to