President Putin apologises for plane crash, without saying Russia at fault

Russian President Vladimir Putin has apologized to Azerbaijan’s president for the downing of a commercial airliner in Russian airspace, which resulted in the deaths of 38 people. However, he stopped short of admitting that Russia was responsible.  

In his first statement regarding the Christmas Day crash, Putin described the incident as a “tragic event,” explaining that it occurred while Russian air defense systems were actively targeting Ukrainian drones.

Reports indicated that the plane was struck by Russian air defense systems as it attempted to land in Chechnya, causing it to divert across the Caspian Sea.

It eventually crash-landed in Kazakhstan, killing 38 of the 67 people on board.