Russian President Vladimir Putin acknowledged on Thursday that Russian air defenses were the reason for shooting down an Azerbaijan Airlines plane last December, killing 38 people, in the first public acknowledgment of Moscow’s responsibility for the incident, in an attempt to calm tensions with Azerbaijan.
Details of the incident
Putin explained that the missiles launched by the Russian defenses to target a Ukrainian drone exploded near the plane belonging to the Azerbaijan Airlines, which was coming from Baku and preparing to land in Grozny, the capital of the Russian Republic of Chechnya, on December 25, 2024. The incident came as Ukrainian drones continued to target areas deep inside Russia.
Putin’s pledges and possible compensation
During a meeting with Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev in Dushanbe, the capital of Tajikistan, where they were attending a summit of the former Soviet Union, Putin pledged to hold those responsible for the accident accountable and provide the necessary compensation to the families of the victims.
Azerbaijan’s reactions
Azerbaijani authorities had said that an Embraer 190 plane was accidentally hit by Russian fire, then attempted to land in western Kazakhstan, where it crashed, killing 38 of the 67 people on board.
Days after the incident, Putin apologized to Aliyev for what he called a “tragic incident” without explicitly acknowledging responsibility, while Aliyev criticized Moscow for trying to “hide” the incident.
