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Russian President Vladimir Putin on Thursday, October 9, acknowledged that Russian air defenses were responsible for shooting down an Azerbaijani passenger jet in December 2024, killing 38 people.
This marks his first explicit admission of responsibility for the crash—an apparent attempt to ease tensions with Azerbaijan. Putin explained that Russian missiles targeting a Ukrainian drone exploded near the Azerbaijan Airlines plane, leading to the tragedy.
The jet, flying from Baku, was preparing to land in Grozny, the capital of Russia’s Chechnya republic, on December 25, 2024, when it was struck. Ukrainian drones have frequently carried out deep strikes inside Russian territory.
Speaking alongside Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev in Dushanbe, Tajikistan, where both attended a summit of former Soviet nations, Putin pledged to punish those responsible and provide compensation to the victims’ families.
Azerbaijani officials had earlier said the aircraft was accidentally hit by Russian air defense fire. The plane attempted to divert to western Kazakhstan but crashed, killing 38 of the 67 people on board.
Although Putin issued an apology for the “tragic incident” days after the crash, he had previously avoided directly admitting fault. Aliyev had accused Moscow of trying to “hush up” the matter. The incident has since strained the once-close ties between the two countries.
