Putin admitted for the first time that Russia was involved in the crash of the Azerbaijani plane in Kazakhstan
President of the Russian Federation Vladimir Putin held a meeting with President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev. Among other things, they discussed the crash of the Azerbaijan Airlines passenger plane that happened in December 2024 near Aktau in Kazakhstan. The Russian leader admitted for the first time that the liner was hit by the Russian anti-aircraft system.
According to Putin, at that time there were Ukrainian drones in the airspace of the Russian Federation, so the tragedy was to some extent connected with this. At the same time, he admitted that there were “technical failures” in the work of the Russian air defense system, which caused the plane to be hit.
“And the two missiles that were fired didn’t hit the plane directly – if it had, it would have fallen on the spot – but exploded, maybe it was self-destruction – a few meters away, somewhere around 10 meters from the side. And that’s why it was damaged, but not by combat elements, but, most likely, by fragments of rockets, – explained the head of the Kremlin.
He also stated that the crew was offered to land in Makhachkala, but the pilots, according to him, refused. In addition, Putin assured that the Russian side will “do everything necessary” for the payment of compensations and will “provide a legal assessment of the actions of all officials.
We remind you that on December 25, 2024, an Azerbaijan Airlines passenger plane crashed near Aktau. There were 62 passengers and five crew members on board. 38 people died, 29 more were saved. According to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine, there were no citizens of Ukraine among the passengers. 150 employees and 45 units of equipment of the Ministry of Emergency Situations and emergency services of Kazakhstan worked at the scene of the disaster.
Azerbaijan Airlines said that the previous cause of the tragedy could have been a collision between the plane and the birds. At the same time, photos and videos from the scene of the accident showed holes in the side panels, the origin of which has not yet been established. The police of Kazakhstan opened a criminal case on the fact of the disaster.
