President Vladimir Putin informed Azerbaijan’s Ilham Aliyev on Thursday that two Russian anti-aircraft missiles detonated just a few meters from a passenger jet operated by Azerbaijan Airlines, which crashed last year, resulting in 38 fatalities.
On December 25, the Embraer 190 aircraft was en route from Baku to Grozny in Chechnya when it lost radar signal near the Caspian Sea coast of Russia before ultimately crashing near the Kazakh city of Aktau.
Officials in Russia initially provided inconsistent explanations for the crash, suggesting either poor visibility or a bird strike might have caused the tragedy. They later indicated that air defense systems were engaged with Ukrainian drones in the vicinity.
In February, Kazakhstan’s Transportation Ministry released a detailed 53-page report mentioning that “external objects” had impacted the aircraft, including images that depicted the fuselage heavily damaged with holes. The findings indicated that this damage led to a loss of hydraulic fluid and pressure, resulting in the failure of the stabilizer.
Russian civil aviation authorities stated they were not granted complete access to the wreckage. According to a source within the Azerbaijani government, international experts had identified a fragment of a Russian Pantsir-S anti-air missile among the debris recovered from the site.
As the investigation into the crash comes close to completion, Putin has conveyed to Aliyev that the incident resulted from a combination of Ukrainian drones entering Russian airspace and a malfunction within the air defense system, which caused two missiles to explode near the aircraft.
“They detonated, possibly due to self-destruction, at a distance of about 10 meters [33 feet]. Therefore, the aircraft was not primarily impacted by direct fire but was instead damaged by fragments of the missiles,” Putin stated during a meeting with Aliyev in Tajikistan, marking his first public acknowledgment of Russia’s partial responsibility.
He added that had the aircraft been directly struck, it would have “crashed immediately.” Referencing cockpit recordings, Putin noted that the pilot had mistaken the explosion for a bird strike and opted not to divert to Makhachkala.
Putin assured that compensation would be provided to the victims’ families and that there would be a “legal assessment” of the actions taken by Russian officials during the incident.
Aliyev, who had previously held Russia accountable and called for responsibility, expressed gratitude to Putin for personally overseeing the investigation.
“We had no doubt that it would thoroughly and objectively establish all the facts,” said the Azerbaijani president.
Since the December plane crash, relations between Russia and Azerbaijan have deteriorated.
In response to the incident, Baku has undertaken several actions perceived as retaliatory, such as closing a Moscow-funded cultural center, barring Russian officials from entry over “offensive” comments, and shutting down Kremlin-supported media outlets operating in Azerbaijan.
