After 10 Months, Moscow Finally Admits Fault in Azerbaijan Plane Tragedy

After ten months of silence and speculation, Moscow has finally admitted its fault in the tragic downing of an Azerbaijan Airlines passenger plane. Russian President Vladimir Putin made the admission on Thursday, acknowledging his country’s role in the December 2024 crash that resulted in 38 deaths.
Meeting with Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev in Tajikistan, Putin called the incident a “tragedy” and explained it as a military mistake. He claimed that Russian missiles, intended for Ukrainian drones, inadvertently caused the crash when the drones detonated in immediate proximity to the civilian aircraft.
The crash on Christmas Day, 2024, has been a painful chapter for Azerbaijan. The plane, flying from Baku to Grozny, was hit by Russian air defense fire and went down in Kazakhstan. Of the 67 passengers and crew, only 29 survived the catastrophic event.
The delayed admission did not entirely placate the Azerbaijani leader. President Aliyev took the opportunity to criticize Moscow, accusing the Kremlin of attempting to “hush up” the affair. The incident and its handling have severely strained the once-stable relationship between the two countries.
In a bid to repair the immense damage, President Putin vowed to provide “adequate compensation” to the families of the deceased. He also committed to a formal legal review of the officials involved, signaling that there would be an internal investigation into the fatal operational error.