Russian President Vladimir Putin apologized to the president of neighboring Azerbaijan for shooting down a commercial airliner in Russian airspace, killing 38 people, but did not say Russia was responsible.
In his first comments on the Christmas crash, Putin said the “tragic incident” occurred while Russian air defense systems were actively repelling Ukrainian drones.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Russia must stop spreading disinformation about the strikes.
According to reports, the plane was attacked by a Russian air defense system while trying to land in Chechnya and was forced to divert across the Caspian Sea.
It crashed in Kazakhstan, killing 38 of the 67 people on board.
The Kremlin issued a statement Saturday saying that Putin spoke by phone with Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev.
President Vladimir Putin said he apologized for the tragic incident that occurred in Russian airspace, once again expressed deep condolences to the families of the victims, and prayed for a speedy recovery for the injured.
The Kremlin’s readout did not directly acknowledge that the plane had been hit by a Russian missile.
Before Saturday, the Kremlin had refused to say whether it had been involved in the crash. However, Russian aviation authorities said the situation in the region was “very complicated” due to Ukrainian drone attacks on Chechnya.
Aviation experts and others in Azerbaijan believe the plane’s GPS system was affected by electronic jamming and was damaged by shrapnel from an explosion of a Russian air defense missile.
Survivors previously reported hearing a loud noise before the plane crashed, suggesting it had been targeted.
Azerbaijan did not formally blame Russia this week, but Azerbaijan’s Transport Minister said the plane had suffered “external interference” and was damaged inside and out as it attempted to land.
U.S. Pentagon officials also said Friday that they believed Russia was responsible for the shootdown.
In a statement released shortly after the Kremlin, Prime Minister Zelenskyy said the damage to the plane’s fuselage was “highly reminiscent of an anti-aircraft missile attack” and that Russia “must provide a clear explanation.”
“The priority now is a thorough investigation to answer all questions about what actually happened.”
In a phone call Saturday, Putin acknowledged that an Azerbaijan Airlines plane repeatedly attempted to land at Grozny Airport in Chechnya on December 25.
At the time, Grozny in Chechnya and Mozdok and Vladikavkaz in North Ossetia. According to a Kremlin statement, Putin said Russian drones were under attack by Ukrainian drones and that Russian air defense systems repelled the attacks.
Moscow noted that Russian investigators had launched a criminal investigation. Azerbaijan has already announced it will launch an investigation.
The Kremlin said agencies from Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan and Russia were “working closely together at the disaster site in the Aktau region.”
