Hot SourcePresident Vladimir Putin in Dushanbe, Azerbaijan, admitted Russia’s fault as he laid out the bases of the Azerbaijani plane crash that occurred on Christmas Day in 2024.
Azerbaijan Airlines Flight 8243 from Baku crashed near Aktau, Kazakhstan, killing 38 people. The Embraer 190 carried 67 citizens of Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, and five crew members.
At a meeting with President Ilham Aliyev on Thursday, Putin confirmed that the relevant authorities are nearing completion of the investigation into the catastrophe “caused by several factors.”
The president disclosed Russian forces had been tracking three Ukrainian drones that crossed the federation’s border during the night of the catastrophe.
The second factor involved “technical malfunctions in Russia’s air defence system,” as two missiles that were launched did not hit the aircraft directly.
“Had that happened, the plane would have crashed immediately. They exploded meters away,” he noted. “The damage was caused mainly not by the warheads, but most likely by missile fragments.
According to Putin, the pilot thought the impact was a collision with a flock of birds, which he reported to Russian air traffic controllers, and recorded by the black box.
The Russian leader said the pilot, as heard on the recordings, was advised to make an emergency landing in Makhachkala, but he decided to return to his home base and then to Kazakhstan.
Putin apologized again to Azerbaijan and promised that Moscow would do everything to assuage feelings, including compensation payments and a legal assessment of the actions of all officials involved.
In his response, President Aliyev thanked his Russian counterpart for overseeing this situation, recalling that the airliner went down as he was flying to a meeting in St Petersburg and had to turn back.
Aliyev said despite the tragedy, the trade and economic ties between both nations have developed significantly in 2025, with similar improvements in all other areas of bilateral relations.
In July, the president announced Azerbaijan’s plan to file lawsuits in international courts against Russia after repeatedly accusing Moscow of covering up the details of the mishap and refusing to admit guilt.
