Two days after plane crash, Kadyrov announces mourning in Chechnya

December 28 will be a day of mourning in Chechnya for those who perished in the aircraft crash near Aktau; entertainment events in the republic have been cancelled and state flags have been lowered.

The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that on December 25, an Azerbaijan Airlines (AZAL) plane flying from Baku to Grozny crashed in Kazakhstan. There were 62 passengers and five crew members on board; only 29 people survived. The emergency situation on board coincided with the drone attack on Grozny, and traces of damage may indicate an explosion inside or outside, Russian experts have suggested. Rasim Musabekov, an Azerbaijani MP, has demanded that Russia take responsibility and apologize for the plane crash.

The nature of the aircraft damage fails to support the version about the involvement of Russian air defence systems in the accident, experts have noted. Sources in the government of Azerbaijan have voiced the version about the plane crash as a result of repelling a drone attack over Chechnya.

On December 28, mourning was declared in Chechnya in connection with the crash of the Baku-Grozny plane, the "Chechnya Today" News Agency has informed.

A commentator for the "Caucasian Knot" has noted that the head of Chechnya is in no hurry to declare mourning in the republic in connection with the Baku-Grozny plane crash. "Kadyrov has limited himself to expressing condolences to casualties' relatives," the commentator has written.