Russian President Vladimir Putin on Thursday publicly admitted for the first time that Russia played a role in the 2024 crash of an Azerbaijani passenger jet, calling the incident a “tragedy.”
The crash occurred on December 25, when an Azerbaijan Airlines flight made a crash landing in Kazakhstan, killing 38 of the 67 people on board. The flight had been diverted from its scheduled destination in Grozny, a city in southern Russia.
Missiles Targeting Ukrainian Drones May Have Caused Incident
During a meeting with Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev, Putin said Russian forces had launched two missiles aimed at Ukrainian drones on the morning of the crash. While the missiles did not directly hit the aircraft, he admitted they exploded “just a few meters away”, likely leading to the plane’s malfunction.
“If the missiles had struck the plane directly, it would have gone down immediately,” Putin said.
He added that Russian air traffic controllers had advised the pilot to land in Makhachkala, but the pilot instead attempted to reach his home airport, and later diverted to Kazakhstan, where the plane ultimately crashed.
Russia Pledges Compensation and Investigation
Putin promised that Russia would compensate the victims’ families and that a full legal assessment would be made of all actions taken by officials involved in the incident.
“Russia will do everything necessary in such tragic cases to provide compensation,” Putin assured.
The admission came after months of tension, with Azerbaijan earlier accusing Russia of attempting to cover up the true cause of the crash. Initially, Russian authorities attributed the incident to a bird strike.
Shift in Russia-Azerbaijan Relations
The Kremlin said President Aliyev thanked Putin for finally providing a “detailed explanation” of the crash, which had severely strained relations between the two countries.
The tragedy marked a serious diplomatic rift between Moscow and Baku, despite Azerbaijan’s traditionally close ties with Russia as a former Soviet republic and key energy producer.
Background:
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Aircraft: Embraer 190
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Casualties: 38 dead, 29 survivors
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Original destination: Grozny, Russia
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Crash site: Kazakhstan
The Kremlin’s acknowledgment could open the door to diplomatic healing, but questions remain about why it took nearly a year for Russia to publicly accept responsibility.
