Putin admits for first time that Azerbaijani plane was hit by russian missiles

Russian dictator vladimir putin said at a meeting with Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev that it was not russian missiles that hit the AZAL passenger plane in December 2024, but their fragments. The Medusa publication and the Telegram channel Mash reported this on Thursday, October 9.

Putin said there were three Ukrainian drones in russian skies at the time. According to him, russian air defense fired two missiles that allegedly exploded near the plane and hit it with debris, causing the plane to fall and crash.

"The liner was hit by non-lethal missile elements, but most likely by "debris," Putin added. The Russian president said he had already apologized for the "tragedy" that happened to the plane in the skies over Russia. He reiterated his condolences to the families of those killed in the crash, adding that Russia is helping to investigate the causes of the crash," the statement said.

The russian dictator also promised compensation and a "legal assessment of the actions of all officials."

As the Ukrainian News agency earlier reported, on July 20, Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev said, that his country is preparing an international lawsuit against the aggressor country russia in connection with the aircraft crash of Azerbaijan Airlines (AZAL) that occurred on December 25, 2024.

On December 26, 2024, the Azerbaijani parliament called on russia to admit its involvement in the plane crash and apologize for the incident.

On December 27, 2024, Azerbaijan Arilines said that its Embraer 190 aircraft, which crashed in Kazakhstan on December 25, had been subjected to physical and technical external interference before the crash.