Azerbaijan's president says crashed jetliner was shot down by Russia unintentionally 

An Azerbaijan national flag, flowers and candles are seen at the wall of the apartment building in memory of a pilot Alexander Kalyanina, one of victims of the Azerbaijan Airlines crash near the Kazakhstan's airport of Aktau, in Baku, Dec. 28, 2024. In this photo taken from a video released by the administration of Mangystau region, a part of Azerbaijan Airlines' Embraer 190 lies on the ground near the airport of Aktau, Kazakhstan, Dec. 26, 2024.

Azerbaijan's President Ilham Aliyev said Sunday that the Azerbaijani airliner that crashed last week was shot down by Russia, albeit unintentionally, and criticized Moscow for trying to "hush up" the issue for days.