Putin apologizes for Azerbaijan Airlines crash and admits Russian air defense was active at the time

CNN
—

Russian President Vladimir Putin apologized for the crash of an Azerbaijan Airlines plane in Grozny, Chechnya on Wednesday after it entered Russian airspace, but did not say Russia was responsible.

According to the Kremlin, Putin said on Saturday that Russian air defense systems were active when the plane tried to land in Grozny. Unable to reach the airport, the plane was diverted east and eventually crashed near Aktau, Kazakhstan, killing 38 people on board.

It is unconfirmed what was behind the incident, but a US official told CNN on Thursday that early indications suggest a Russian anti-aircraft system may have shot down the passenger plane. In his comments, Putin did not say that Russian anti-aircraft missiles had hit the plane.

In a phone call with Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev, Putin “apologized for the fact that the tragic incident occurred in Russian airspace,” the Kremlin said in a statement.

The Kremlin said that the plane “repeatedly attempted to land at the airport in Grozny,” but at the same time “the Grozny, Mozdok and Vladikavkaz areas were attacked by Ukrainian combat drones, and Russian air defense systems repelled these attacks.”

The Russian Investigative Committee has opened a criminal case in connection with the disaster, the statement said.

In a statement Friday, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha said Russian media had “lied about the cause of the crash,” adding that Moscow “forced the damaged jet to cross the sea, most likely to hide evidence of their crime.” .” ”