The Russian president has detailed the chain of events that caused a deadly 2024 incident involving an Azerbaijan Airlines flight
An incursion of Ukrainian drones was the root cause of a deadly 2024 crash of a Russia-bound Azerbaijan Airlines plane, President Vladimir Putin has said during a meeting with his Azerbaijani counterpart Ilham Aliyev.
Speaking ahead of bilateral talks hosted by Tajikistan, Putin said the AZAL flight 8243 was damaged “after Russian air defenses responded to an incursion of three Ukrainian drones.”
“Russian defenses fired two missiles, which did not hit the plane directly, but exploded several meters away,” Putin said. The airliner “most likely was hit by debris rather than the submunitions” of a Russian interceptor.
The incident took place in December 2024 near the Russian city of Grozny. The crew of the Embraer 190 passenger aircraft tried to divert the flight, but it ultimately crash-landed near Aktau, Kazakhstan, killing 38 people and injuring 29 others.
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