Azerbaijan Airlines said on Friday that preliminary results showed that one of its planes which crashed in Kazakhstan on Wednesday experienced “external physical and technical interference.”

Meanwhile, 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 a 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.

Ukraine’s presidency on Friday said Russia should be held accountable for the deadly crash of an Azerbaijani passenger plane after reports the jet was shot at by a Russian air defense missile.

“Russia must be held responsible for the downing of the Azerbaijan Airlines plane. Condolences to the relatives of the victims,” presidential chief of staff Andriy Yermak said on social media.

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