Russian President Vladimir Putin on Thursday acknowledged for the first time that Russia’s air defenses were responsible for downing an Azerbaijani passenger jet in December, which killed 38 people.
Speaking during a meeting with Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev in Dushanbe, Tajikistan — where both leaders are attending a summit of former Soviet nations — Putin described the incident as a “tragic mistake.”
The Azerbaijan Airlines flight, traveling from Baku to Grozny, the capital of Russia’s Chechen Republic, crashed on December 25, 2024. According to Azerbaijani authorities, the aircraft was accidentally struck by Russian air defense fire and attempted an emergency landing in western Kazakhstan before crashing, killing 38 of the 67 people onboard.
Putin offered an apology to Aliyev for the “tragic incident,” marking his first public acknowledgment of Russia’s role. Aliyev, however, criticized Moscow for initially attempting to “hush up” the matter.