Putin Acknowledges Russia's Role in Azerbaijani Plane Crash

Table of Contents

• Putin's Admission of Fault
• Details of the Crash
• Investigation Findings
• Putin's Apology
• Bilateral Relations
• Plans for Legal Action

President Vladimir Putin, during his visit to Dushanbe, Azerbaijan, acknowledged Russia's responsibility while outlining the circumstances surrounding the Azerbaijani plane crash that took place on Christmas Day in 2024.

Azerbaijan Airlines Flight 8243, which was traveling from Baku, crashed near Aktau, Kazakhstan, resulting in the loss of 38 lives. The Embraer 190 was carrying 67 passengers from Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, and Russia, along with five crew members.

In a meeting with President Ilham Aliyev on Thursday, Putin confirmed that the relevant authorities are close to concluding their investigation into the disaster, which he described as “caused by several factors.”

The president revealed that Russian forces had been monitoring three Ukrainian drones that crossed the nation's border on the night of the incident.

The second contributing factor was “technical malfunctions in Russia’s air defense system,” as two missiles that were launched did not directly strike the aircraft.

“If that had occurred, the plane would have gone down immediately. They detonated just meters away,” he explained. “The damage was primarily due to missile fragments rather than the warheads themselves.”

According to Putin, the pilot believed the impact was a collision with a flock of birds, which he reported to Russian air traffic controllers and was recorded by the black box.

The Russian leader stated that the pilot, as heard in the recordings, was advised to make an emergency landing in Makhachkala but opted to return to his home base and then proceed to Kazakhstan.

Putin reiterated his apology to Azerbaijan and assured that Moscow would take all necessary steps to mitigate feelings of distress, including compensation payments and a legal review of the actions of all officials involved.

In response, President Aliyev expressed gratitude to his Russian counterpart for managing the situation, recalling that the airliner went down while he was en route to a meeting in St. Petersburg, which forced him to turn back.

Aliyev noted that despite the tragedy, trade and economic relations between the two nations have significantly improved in 2025, along with advancements in other areas of bilateral relations.

In July, the president announced Azerbaijan’s intention to pursue lawsuits in international courts against Russia, following repeated accusations that Moscow has been concealing details of the incident and declining to accept responsibility.