President Vladimir Putin has finally acknowledged an inconvenient truth: Moscow made a fatal error that led to the deaths of 38 people aboard an Azerbaijani passenger plane in 2024. The admission came ten months after the incident during a summit in Dushanbe.
Putin, speaking with Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev, described the downing of the jet as a “tragedy.” He officially confirmed that Russian air defense missiles were responsible, explaining they were targeting Ukrainian drones that detonated “meters away” from the aircraft.
The crash on December 25, 2024, has been a major point of contention. The flight from Baku to Grozny went down in Kazakhstan, and Russia’s refusal to accept responsibility has severely damaged its relationship with Azerbaijan, a key neighbor.
The acknowledgment of this truth did not go smoothly. President Aliyev publicly accused Moscow of spending the last ten months trying to “hush up” its involvement, suggesting a deliberate campaign of misinformation and delay.
In the face of this difficult truth, Putin offered a twofold solution. He promised that Russia would provide “adequate compensation” to the families of the victims and would ensure a full legal review of the officials whose error led to the disaster.
