Putin apologises for downing Azerbaijan Airlines plane, says Russia was repelling Ukrainian drone attacks

The Embraer (EMBR3.SA), passenger jet had flown from Azerbaijan’s capital Baku to Grozny on Christmas Day, in Russia’s southern Chechnya region, before veering off hundreds of miles across the Caspian Sea in a ball of fire near the city of Aktau in Kazakhstan.

Russian President Vladimir Putin also apologised to Ilham Aliyev, the president of Azerbaijan, on Saturday for what the Kremlin said was a “tragic incident” in Russian airspace.

“(President) Vladimir Putin apologised for the tragic incident that occurred in Russian airspace and once again expressed his deep and sincere condolences to the families of the victims and wished a speedy recovery to the injured,” the Kremlin said in a statement.

This is the first time Kremlin responded on the crash, which Ukrainian and US officials were long designating to it.

On Friday, White House spokesperson John Kirby told reporters that the US had seen “early indications” that the plane may have been downed by Russian air defence, but declined to comment further.

Ukrainian presidential spokesman Andriy Yermak has also said Russia must be held responsible.

As per a release by Azerbaijan’s presidential office, in the conversation with Putin, President Aliyev, stated that the plane had been “subjected to external physical and technical interference in Russian airspace, resulting in a complete loss of control and redirection to the Kazakh city of Aktau.”

However, as per a report by BBC, head of Russia’s civil aviation agency, Dmitry Yadrov, described the situation in Grozny as “very complicated” during a recent wave of Ukrainian drone attacks targeting civilian infrastructure in Grozny and Vladikavkaz.

In a video statement released via Russia’s Tass news agency, Yadrov confirmed that Ukrainian combat drones had launched “terrorist attacks” on key infrastructure in the two cities. In response, a “Carpet plan” was enacted in the vicinity of Grozny airport.

“The ‘Carpet plan’ provides for the immediate departure of all aircraft from the specified area,” Yadrov explained. Compounding the complexity of the situation, dense fog further hindered operations at Grozny airport.