Putin Apologizes for Azerbaijan Airlines Plane Crash

Russian President Vladimir Putin extended an apology on Saturday to Azerbaijan’s President Ilham Aliyev following the tragic crash of Azerbaijan Airlines flight J2-8243 last Wednesday, December 25, ABP News reported. The passenger jet, which was reportedly shot down by Russian air defences amidst military actions against Ukrainian drones, resulted in at least 38 deaths and 29 survivors.

In his statement, Putin expressed deep condolences to the victims’ families and acknowledged the gravity of the incident. The Kremlin noted that the aircraft, an Embraer EMBR3.SA, was diverted off course while traveling from Baku to Grozny and ultimately crashed near Aktau, Kazakhstan.

Preliminary investigations suggest that external interference caused the plane to lose control, leading to the fatal incident.