Putin Apologizes for Plane Crash Without Accepting Russia’s Fault
Russian President Vladimir Putin has extended an apology to Azerbaijan’s President Ilham Aliyev over the downing of a commercial airliner in Russian airspace that killed 38 people. However, he stopped short of admitting Russian responsibility for the tragedy.
In his first remarks on the Christmas Day incident, Putin described the crash as a “tragic incident” that occurred while Russian air defenses were repelling Ukrainian drone attacks.
The Azerbaijan Airlines flight, carrying 67 passengers, was en route from Baku to Grozny, the capital of Chechnya, when it came under fire. The plane diverted across the Caspian Sea and crash-landed near Aktau, Kazakhstan, killing 38 people, most of whom were Azerbaijani citizens. Survivors, mainly seated at the rear of the aircraft, reported hearing loud bangs before the crash, raising suspicions the plane had been struck by Russian air defense missiles.
The Kremlin issued a statement on Saturday confirming Putin’s apology and condolences to the victims’ families. He acknowledged the plane had made several attempts to land at Grozny Airport, where nearby regions were reportedly under attack by Ukrainian drones. However, the statement avoided directly admitting that Russian missiles were involved.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky criticized Russia, accusing it of spreading disinformation. He highlighted damage to the aircraft’s fuselage as resembling that caused by air defense missiles and called for a transparent investigation.
Aviation experts in Azerbaijan have suggested that the plane’s GPS systems were disrupted by electronic jamming and that it was hit by shrapnel from Russian missile defenses. Survivors’ accounts, combined with observations from U.S. defense officials, further support claims of Russian involvement.
Both Russia and Azerbaijan have announced investigations into the crash, with officials from Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, and Russia collaborating at the crash site in Aktau. The situation in the region remains tense, as airlines in Azerbaijan have suspended flights to most Russian cities pending the outcome of the inquiry.
While the Kremlin has initiated a criminal investigation, it continues to attribute the crash to the “complicated” circumstances caused by Ukrainian drone activity. Calls for accountability grow as families of the victims and international observers demand clearer answers about the deadly incident.
