Azerbaijan’s President Ilham Aliyev confirmed on Sunday that Russia accidentally shot down an Azerbaijan Airlines plane on Christmas Day. The incident resulted in a tragic crash that left 38 dead, with 29 survivors.
Aliyev told Azerbaijani television that the plane was hit by ground fire during its flight from Baku to Grozny in Russia’s Chechen Republic. He emphasized that the downing was not intentional but was a result of shooting from the ground.
This revelation follows a phone call in which Russian President Vladimir Putin offered an apology. However, Putin refrained from accepting responsibility, citing Ukrainian drone attacks in the region. According to Putin, Russian air defense systems were engaged at the time, which may have led to the incident.
Aliyev criticized “some circles” in Russia for attempting to conceal the true cause of the crash. He pointed out that initial explanations, such as a bird strike or a gas cylinder explosion, were misleading. “This clearly showed that the Russian side wanted to cover up the issue,” Aliyev remarked.
The Azerbaijani president stressed that the downing was accidental and urged Russia to take accountability. “Apologizing in a timely manner and informing the public should have been the right course of action,” he said.
The civilian airliner had been diverted hundreds of kilometers from its original route after passengers reported hearing an explosion. The plane crashed near Aktau, Kazakhstan, killing nearly four dozen people. Despite the tragedy, 29 passengers survived the crash.
