Putin Apologizes to Azerbaijan Without Mentioning Russia's Role in Plane Crash

The Kremlin stated that Vladimir Putin apologized to Ilham Aliyev for the "tragic incident" of a passenger plane from Azerbaijan Airlines that crashed in Russian airspace. On Saturday, January 8, during this conversation, the Russian President told the Azerbaijani President that Russian air defense systems were activated to counter Ukrainian drone attacks. However, he refrained from confirming that these systems were responsible for the plane's downing. The Azerbaijani Airlines plane crashed on Wednesday, January 5, while attempting to land in Grozny, the capital of Chechnya, Russia, but fell near the city of Aktau in Kazakhstan, resulting in the deaths of 38 out of 67 passengers. On Friday, the Ministry of Transport and the Azerbaijani airline announced that the plane crashed due to "external physical and technical interference"; this fueled speculation about the possibility of the plane being targeted by Russian defense systems. According to the Kremlin, Putin told Aliyev that during this time, the cities of Grozny, Mozdok, and Vladikavkaz were attacked by Ukrainian combat drones, and Russian air defense was repelling these attacks. The Azerbaijani Presidential Office also stated that Aliyev told his Russian counterpart that the plane initially faced "external physical and technical interference" in Russian airspace. According to the Azerbaijani President, after this external interference, complete control of the plane was lost, leading to its crash. Aliyev emphasized that "multiple holes in the aircraft's fuselage, injuries to passengers and crew due to the penetration of foreign particles into the cabin during flight, as well as testimonies from surviving crew members and passengers, are evidence confirming external physical and technical interference." The passenger plane, an Embraer, crashed on Wednesday, January 5, near Aktau in Kazakhstan. This incident occurred after the aircraft was diverted from an area in Russia where Moscow has used air defense systems in recent months to counter Ukrainian drone attacks. The Azerbaijani Minister of Transport stated that survivors reported hearing "three explosions" while flying over Grozny.