Russia says Ukrainian drones attacked Grozny as Azerbaijani jet tried to land

The head of Russia's civil aviation agency said Friday that Ukrainian drones were attacking the city of Grozny as an Azerbaijani Airlines plane was trying to land there, before it later crashed in Kazakhstan.

Dmitry Yadrov also said on Telegram that there was heavy fog over Grozny when the incident occurred Wednesday and "conditions that day and in those hours around the airport were very complicated".

"Ukrainian military drones were carrying out terrorist attacks on civilian infrastructure... at the time," Yadrov said, adding that the plane made two unsuccessful attempts to land.

"The pilot was offered alternative airports. He took the decision to go to Aktau airport" in Kazakhstan, he said.

Yadrov also said that Grozny airport had suspended arrivals and departures because of the Ukrainian drone attacks, though without specifying when this happened.

The Azerbaijan Airlines jet crashed in western Kazakhstan, killing 38 of the 67 people on board.

Several media reports have quoted Azerbaijani officials as saying they suspect a Russian air defense missile caused the crash.

The Kremlin has declined to comment until the official investigation is completed.