Russian President Vladimir Putin has acknowledged Russia’s responsibility for the Azerbaijani plane crash that occurred on Christmas Day 2024.
Azerbaijan Airlines Flight 8243, traveling from Baku, crashed near Aktau, Kazakhstan, killing 38 people. The Embraer 190 was carrying 67 passengers from Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, and Russia, along with five crew members.
During a meeting with Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev in Dushanbe, Tajikistan, Putin confirmed that Russian authorities were close to concluding their investigation, attributing the crash to “several factors.”
He explained that Russian forces had been tracking three Ukrainian drones that entered Russian airspace on the night of the incident. Additionally, “technical malfunctions in Russia’s air defence system” led to two missiles missing the aircraft directly, with the damage caused mainly by missile fragments rather than direct hits.
Putin noted that the pilot initially believed the impact was a bird strike and reported it to Russian air traffic controllers, as recorded by the black box. Though advised to make an emergency landing in Makhachkala, the pilot opted to return to his home base and then continue to Kazakhstan.
The Russian leader apologized to Azerbaijan and pledged full cooperation, including compensation and legal evaluation of officials involved.
President Aliyev thanked Putin for overseeing the investigation, noting that the airliner went down while he was en route to St Petersburg and had to return. He added that despite the tragedy, trade and economic relations between the two countries had improved significantly in 2025.
Earlier, in July, Aliyev had announced Azerbaijan’s intention to pursue international lawsuits against Russia, citing previous accusations of a cover-up and refusal to admit responsibility.
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