Overview
- Putin said two Russian air-defense missiles exploded about 10 meters from the jet, with fragments—not a direct hit—causing fatal damage.
- He said the missiles were launched at Ukrainian drones and cited a malfunction in Russia’s air-defense system as a contributing factor.
- Russia will provide compensation and conduct a legal assessment of officials’ actions, while Azerbaijan’s President Ilham Aliyev welcomed the disclosure.
- The Embraer 190 crashed on December 25, 2024 near Aktau, Kazakhstan after diverting from Grozny, killing 38 of the 67 people on board.
- Kazakhstan’s earlier report documented external punctures to the fuselage, and investigators reportedly recovered a Pantsir-S missile fragment as findings near completion.