Putin admits Russian air defence forces responsible for downing Azerbaijani jetliner that killed 38 people

In a significant development, Vladimir Putin on Thursday admitted that the Russian air defences were responsible for downing an Azerbaijani jetliner last year that killed 38 people, news agency AP reported. Putin made the statement at a meeting with Azerbaijan’s President Ilham Aliev in Tajikistan’s capital of Dushanbe, where both are attending a summit of the former Soviet nations.

The Azerbaijan Airlines passenger jet crashed on December 25, 2024, while on a flight from Baku to Grozny, the regional capital of the Russian republic of Chechnya. Azerbaijani authorities said the jet was accidentally hit by fire from Russian air defences, then tried to land in western Kazakhstan when it crashed, killing 38 of 67 people aboard.

Putin had apologised to Azerbaijani counterpart

Earlier, Putin had apologised to his Azerbaijani counterpart for what he called a “tragic incident” following the crash of an Azerbaijani airliner in Kazakhstan that killed 38 people, but stopped short of acknowledging that Moscow was responsible.

Putin’s apology came after allegations mounted that the plane had been shot down by Russian air defenses attempting to deflect a Ukrainian drone strike near Grozny, the regional capital of the Russian republic of Chechnya.

Here’s what earlier official Kremlin statement said

An earlier official Kremlin statement said that air defense systems were firing near Grozny airport as the airliner “repeatedly” attempted to land there, however, it did not explicitly say one of these hit the plane.

The official Kremlin statement said Putin apologised to Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev “for the fact that the tragic incident occurred in Russian airspace.”

Here’s what happened to Azerbaijani jetliner  

It should be noted that the plane was flying from Azerbaijan’s capital, Baku, to Grozny when it turned toward Kazakhstan, hundreds of kilometers (miles) across the Caspian Sea from its intended destination, and crashed while making an attempt to land. There were 29 survivors.

According to a readout of the call provided by Aliyev’s press office, the Azerbaijani president told Putin that the plane was subject to “external physical and technical interference,” although he also stopped short of blaming Russian air defenses.

Aliyev noted that the plane had multiple holes in its fuselage and that the occupants had sustained injuries “due to foreign particles penetrating the cabin mid-flight.”

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