President Vladimir Putin has admitted Russia’s role in the crash of an Azerbaijani passenger plane that occurred on Christmas Day in 2024, killing 38 people.
Speaking in Dushanbe, Tajikistan, during a meeting with Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev on Thursday, Putin said the investigation into the tragic incident involving Azerbaijan Airlines Flight 8243 was nearing completion.
The Embraer 190 aircraft, which was en route from Baku to Aktau, Kazakhstan, crashed near the Kazakh coast, killing passengers from Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, and Russia, along with five crew members.
Putin disclosed that the crash was caused by a combination of factors, including Russian air defence errors and the tracking of Ukrainian drones that had crossed into Russian airspace on the night of the incident.
“Russian forces were tracking three Ukrainian drones that crossed the border that night,” Putin said. “The second factor was technical malfunctions in our air defence system. Two missiles launched did not hit the aircraft directly. They exploded meters away — the damage was caused mainly not by the warheads, but most likely by missile fragments.”
According to Putin, black box recordings revealed that the pilot initially believed the aircraft had collided with a flock of birds and reported this to Russian air traffic controllers. He was advised to make an emergency landing in Makhachkala but instead attempted to return to Kazakhstan.
The Russian president expressed regret over the tragedy and formally apologized to Azerbaijan, pledging full compensation to victims’ families and legal action against any officials found culpable.
“We will do everything necessary to assuage feelings and ensure justice — including compensation payments and a thorough legal assessment,” Putin assured.
In his response, President Aliyev thanked Putin for acknowledging responsibility and overseeing the investigation. He recalled that the crash occurred while he was en route to a meeting in St. Petersburg, forcing him to turn back.
Aliyev noted that despite the tragedy, relations between Baku and Moscow had strengthened in 2025, particularly in trade and economic cooperation.
It will be recalled that in July, Azerbaijan had announced plans to file lawsuits in international courts against Russia, accusing Moscow of covering up details of the crash and refusing to admit culpability.
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