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

Azerbaijan Airlines flight J2-8243 - an Embraer E190AR which had been destined for Grozny, Russia, crashed in Aktau, Kazakhstan after sending a distress signal on Christmas Day

Azerbaijan’s President Ilham Aliyev has accused Russia of accidentally shooting down an airliner on Christmas Day in a disaster that killed 38 people, and covering up the cause.

In the crash’s aftermath, Azerbaijan has unleashed rare and stinging criticism of Russia, with the country’s president saying Moscow’s response has caused “surprise, regret and rightful indignation.”

A survivor of Azerbaijan Airlines Flight 8243, hit by a Russian missile, recalls an explosion near her leg as the plane struggled to land in Grozny before crash landing in Kazakhstan

Azerbaijan’s leader on Monday accused Moscow of carrying out a “cover up” over a passenger jet crash last month that claimed 38 lives, as relations sour between the two neighbors.

Azerbaijan's president has confronted Putin over the devastating plane crash that killed 38 people on Christmas Day.

"The blame for this disaster lies with representatives of the Russian Federation," Ilham Aliyev said on Jan. 6.