President Vladimir Putin has confirmed that Russian air defenses were responsible for the downing of an Azerbaijan Airlines passenger jet in 2024, a tragic case of friendly fire that cost 38 lives. The Russian leader’s first public admission of this fact came during a tense meeting with Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev.
The explanation offered by Putin points to a military operation targeting Ukrainian drones. He detailed that these drones detonated just “meters away” from the passenger plane after being engaged by Russian missiles, leading to the unintentional but fatal strike. The admission occurred at a summit in Dushanbe, nearly a year after the crash.
The incident unfolded on Christmas Day, 2024, when the flight from Baku to Grozny was hit. The damaged plane’s crew heroically attempted an emergency landing in western Kazakhstan, but the aircraft ultimately crashed. The loss of 38 passengers and crew has been a source of national grief in Azerbaijan.
The confirmation from Putin did little to immediately soothe tensions, as President Aliyev used the meeting to lambast Moscow for what he termed an attempt to “hush up” the truth. The controversy has been a key factor in the rapid deterioration of relations between the two countries, which were previously on friendly terms.
To back his words, Putin committed Russia to providing “adequate compensation” for the disaster. Furthermore, he stated that the actions of the military officials involved would be subject to a legal review to determine accountability for the catastrophic error.