Putin Apologizes for 'Tragic Incident' as Azerbaijan Airliner Crashes in Kazakhstan, Killing 38

Dec 28, 2024, 06:07 PM

Russian President Vladimir Putin has apologized to Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev for a 'tragic incident' involving an Embraer 190 Azerbaijan Airlines passenger plane. The aircraft crashed on December 25 near Aktau, Kazakhstan, killing at least 38 of the 67 people on board and leaving 29 survivors. While expressing condolences, Putin stopped short of accepting responsibility for the incident. The Kremlin stated that Russian air defense systems were repelling Ukrainian drone attacks in Russian airspace at the time but did not confirm if the plane was hit. The incident has led several foreign airlines to suspend flights to Russian cities.