Putin apologizes to Azerbaijan’s President Aliyev over plane crash, stops short of admitting Russia’s guilt

Vladimir Putin held a phone conversation with Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev earlier today, during which he apologized for the crash of an Azerbaijan Airlines passenger plane in Kazakstan on Dec. 25, claiming that the “tragic incident occurred in Russian airspace,” according to a press release posted on the Kremlin’s official website.

The statement, which notably stopped short of admitting Russia’s responsibility for the incident, read:

“Vladimir Putin apologized for the fact that the tragic incident occurred in Russian airspace and once again extended his deep and sincere condolences to the families of the victims and wished a speedy recovery to the injured.

The conversation highlighted that the Azerbaijani passenger aircraft, which was following its scheduled route, made several attempts to land at Grozny Airport. During this time, Grozny, Mozdok, and Vladikavkaz were under attack by Ukrainian combat drones, and Russian air defense systems were responding to these assaults.”

The press release also noted that two Azerbaijani prosecutors are currently in Grozny, working alongside Russian investigative authorities. Both countries have launched their own criminal investigations into the incident.

Before Saturday, the Kremlin had remained silent on the crash.

Rosaviatsiya (Russia’s Federal Air Transport Agency) initially claimed that the crash had been caused by a bird strike, but subsequent findings revealed shrapnel traces on the aircraft's fuselage. Rosaviatsiya had also claimed that the Azerbaijan Airlines plane was unable to land in Grozny due to heavy fog and that it had thus decided to divert to Aktau.

Photos of the shrapnel-scareed plane appeared soon after the crash, and multiple international media outlets, citing preliminary findings by Azerbaijani officials, reported that the accident may have been caused by a Russian air defense missile exploding near the aircraft.

Rosaviatsiya later acknowledged that Grozny and Vladikavkaz had come under drone attacks on Dec. 25, prompting the implementation of the “Carpet” (“Kover”) closed-skies protocol, which mandates the immediate evacuation of all aircraft from the affected airspace.

After diverting across the Caspian Sea, the Embraer 190 aircraft, operating Flight 8243 from Baku to Grozny, crashed on Dec. 25 near Aktau in southwestern Kazakhstan, claiming 38 lives — including 23 citizens of Azerbaijan, seven citizens of Russia, and six citizens of Kazakhstan. Among the victims were the pilots, Igor Kshnyakin and Alexander Kalyaninov.

A total of 67 people were on board, including five crew members.