Putin Apologizes to Azerbaijan for Plane Crash in Russian Airspace Amid Drone Attacks

Dec 28, 2024, 01:11 PM

Russian President Vladimir Putin called Azerbaijan's President Ilham Aliyev to apologize for the crash of Azerbaijan Airlines Flight J2-8243, an Embraer 190, near Aktau, Kazakhstan on December 25, according to the Kremlin. Putin expressed deep condolences to the families of the 38 victims who died in the incident. He noted that the plane had attempted multiple landings in Grozny, Chechnya, amid Ukrainian drone attacks on cities in the North Caucasus, which prompted Russian air defenses to be active at the time. Putin did not explicitly admit responsibility for the crash.