Putin Formally Acknowledges Responsibility For Indirect Hits

Russian President Vladimir Putin formally acknowledged that debris from Russian air defense missiles brought down an Azerbaijan Airlines passenger jet on December 25, 2024, killing 38 of the 67 people on board.

Azerbaijan President Ilham Aliyev and Putin were attending a summit of former Soviet nations in Dushanbe, Tajikistan, on October 9, 2025, when Putin admitted Russian responsibility for the crash. He said, “The two missiles that were fired did not directly hit the plane but exploded, perhaps by self-destruction, about ten meters away. That is why the destruction occurred, not by combat elements but by debris from the missiles.”

At the time, Azerbaijani authorities said the aircraft was accidentally hit by Russian fire near Grozny in Chechnya, then flew across the Caspian Sea and attempted to land in western Kazakhstan where it crashed.

Putin told Aliyev that Moscow would provide compensation to the victims’ families and conduct a full investigation into the incident. He said, “The Russian side will obviously do everything to provide compensation and give legal assessment to all responsible officials’ action. Of course, these words related to this tragedy, aimed at supporting – morally supporting – the families do not solve the main problem: We can’t bring back to life those who died as a result of the tragedy.”

He voiced hope for overcoming the strain between the countries caused by the incident, saying, “I hope that our cooperation not only will be restored, but continue in the spirit of our relations, the spirit of our alliance.”

Aliyev thanked Putin for “personally following this case” and described the admission of responsibility as a “positive development” in diplomatic relations between Moscow and Baku.

This was the first meeting between Putin and Aliyev since the crash, and observers say it may indicate a possible warming of relations following months of tension.

Azerbaijani authorities had conducted an investigation and said that a Russian Pantsir-S1 air defense system was the source of the missiles involved. This was determined by matching fragments recovered from the wreckage to the 57E6-E missile used in the Pantsir system.

Pantsir missiles carry a high-explosive fragmentation warhead designed to detonate when a proximity fuze senses a nearby target. It scatters a cloud of metal fragments at high velocity to shred an aircraft’s skin and disable vital systems.

Putin’s explanation of “debris” hitting the airliner is actually how the air defense system is engineered to function.

FMI:  www.azal.az/