President Vladimir Putin has admitted Russia’s role in the tragic downing of an Azerbaijani passenger plane in 2024, but framed the incident as an indirect result of a Ukrainian drone threat. Speaking to his Azerbaijani counterpart, Ilham Aliyev, Putin explained that Russian missiles struck the jet accidentally while targeting the drones.
The Russian president, calling the crash a “tragedy,” stated that the drones detonated just “meters away” from the airliner, leading to the deaths of 38 people. This first official acknowledgment from the Kremlin came ten months after the incident, during a meeting in Dushanbe, Tajikistan.
The Azerbaijan Airlines flight was traveling from Baku to Grozny on December 25, 2024, when it was hit. The crippled aircraft crashed in western Kazakhstan while attempting an emergency landing. Of the 67 people on board, 38 did not survive, sparking a prolonged and bitter dispute between Moscow and Baku.
The explanation, however, was met with skepticism and anger from Azerbaijan. President Aliyev accused Russia of a protracted effort to “hush up” the affair, a charge that Putin did not publicly counter. The controversy has been a primary cause for the souring of relations between the two nations.
Seeking to move forward, Putin made a commitment to Aliyev to provide “adequate compensation” to the victims’ families. He also stated that Russia would ensure the officials involved are subject to a legal review, a step towards establishing formal accountability for the disaster.
Ukrainian Drones Blamed as Putin Explains Russian Strike on Azerbaijani Plane
