Overview

• Speaking with President Ilham Aliyev in Dushanbe, Vladimir Putin offered compensation and a legal review, saying officials responsible would face consequences.
• Putin said two missiles detonated a few meters from the Azerbaijan Airlines plane, likely showering it with fragments rather than making a direct hit, with blasts described as about 10 meters away.
• The flight from Baku to Grozny on Dec. 25, 2024, diverted and crashed near Aktau in western Kazakhstan, killing 38 of the 67 people on board.
• Russia had previously expressed regret without accepting blame, a stance that strained relations as Azerbaijani leaders accused Moscow of trying to hush up the incident.
• Putin said air defenses were tracking up to three Ukrainian drones that day and noted he received key findings only recently, framing his statement as the first explicit acceptance of responsibility after months of investigations.