Meters from Disaster: Putin Details Proximity of Drones to Downed Airliner

President Vladimir Putin, in his first admission of Russia’s role in the 2024 Azerbaijani plane crash, provided a key detail: the airliner was just “meters away” from exploding Ukrainian drones when it was hit. This explanation attempts to frame the downing of the jet, which killed 38 people, as a tragic accident.
The Russian leader’s remarks were made at a summit in Tajikistan during a meeting with Azerbaijan’s President, Ilham Aliyev, ten months after the incident. Putin called the crash a “tragedy” and officially confirmed that Russian air defense missiles were involved in the event.
On December 25, 2024, an Azerbaijan Airlines flight from Baku to Grozny was struck and subsequently crashed in Kazakhstan. The loss of 38 of the 67 people on board has been a source of immense grief and political tension between Moscow and Baku ever since.
However, the detailed explanation was met with a blunt accusation from President Aliyev, who stated that Moscow had attempted to “hush up” the incident. This highlights the deep animosity that has grown between the two nations, exacerbated by the long wait for an official Russian account.
To mitigate the fallout, Putin made a dual promise of compensation and accountability. He assured Aliyev that Russia would provide for the victims’ families and that the officials responsible for the military operation would be subjected to a full legal review.