Russian President Vladimir Putin has publicly admitted that his country’s air defences were responsible for shooting down an Azerbaijan Airlines passenger jet on Christmas Day 2024, killing 38 people.
The rare confession came during a meeting with Azerbaijan’s President Ilham Aliyev in Dushanbe, the capital of Tajikistan, where both leaders were attending a regional summit of former Soviet nations. It marks the first official acknowledgement by Moscow that its own military systems brought down the aircraft, an event that has strained relations between Russia and Azerbaijan for nearly a year.
“Of course, everything that is required in such tragic cases will be done by the Russian side on compensation, and a legal assessment of all official actions will be given,” Putin said. “It is our duty, I repeat once again, to give an objective assessment of everything that happened and to identify the true causes.”
Footage from the meeting showed the two leaders shaking hands before holding a closed-door discussion. While Putin maintained a conciliatory tone, the admission represents a significant reversal of Moscow’s earlier narrative, which avoided taking responsibility and referred only to a “tragic incident” in Russian airspace.
President Vladimir Putin acknowledged that a Russian air defense system was responsible for the crash of an Azerbaijan Airlines passenger jet that killed 38 people in December (translation via AP) https://t.co/agQ3g6rLig pic.twitter.com/A1LzSpnrsP
— Bloomberg (@business) October 9, 2025
A Christmas Day tragedy
The Azerbaijan Airlines flight J2-8243, en route from Baku to Grozny, disappeared from radar on 25 December 2024 and later crashed near Aktau, a port city on Kazakhstan’s Caspian coast.
Initial reports suggested the plane had been struck by “external interference”. Azerbaijan’s civil aviation authorities said fragments of “foreign metal objects” were found in the wreckage, with visible damage to the aircraft’s stabilisers, hydraulics, and trim systems.
According to Azerbaijani officials, the passenger jet had been accidentally hit by Russian surface-to-air missiles launched to intercept a Ukrainian drone that was flying over Chechnya. At the time, Russia’s southern air defences were on high alert amid escalating Ukrainian drone incursions deep inside Russian territory.
Investigators later determined that shrapnel from a Pantsir-S missile exploded next to the plane mid-flight, striking passengers and crew. The pilots attempted to make an emergency landing but were refused entry to several Russian airports, officially due to “fog”, before being directed to continue across the Caspian Sea towards Kazakhstan. The aircraft eventually crashed near Aktau after running out of options, killing most of those on board.
A total of 29 passengers survived, largely thanks to the actions of the flight crew, who were among the 38 casualties.
Mounting diplomatic pressure
Until this week, Moscow had resisted calls to take responsibility. In early 2025, Putin issued a rare apology to President Aliyev, calling the event “a tragic accident” but stopping short of admitting direct fault. That cautious phrasing angered many in Azerbaijan, where public mourning quickly turned into frustration over what was perceived as a cover-up.
Aliyev repeatedly accused Russia of trying to “hush up” the incident. In July 2025, the Azerbaijani president announced plans to file lawsuits in international courts against Russia, asserting that the facts were “as clear as day”.
“We know what happened and we can prove it,” Aliyev said at the time. “And we know that Russian officials know what happened.”
Pressure mounted further when Euronews reported that Azerbaijani government sources had confirmed, just a day after the crash, that a Russian missile was understood to be the cause. Those same sources said the aircraft’s GPS navigation systems had been jammed throughout its path above the Caspian Sea, further complicating the crew’s attempts to navigate to safety.
A shift in tone from Moscow
Putin’s remarks in Dushanbe signal a clear change in the Kremlin’s stance. He acknowledged that the missiles fired by Russian air defences were intended to hit a Ukrainian drone near Grozny but accidentally detonated close to the Azerbaijan Airlines jet.
“It is our duty to identify the true causes and ensure full transparency,” Putin told Aliyev, adding that Russia would cooperate in investigations and provide compensation to victims’ families.
Analysts believe that Moscow’s change in tone reflects both diplomatic necessity and geopolitical calculation. Russia remains a key player in the South Caucasus, but its influence has waned since the start of the war in Ukraine. With Azerbaijan emerging as an increasingly independent actor, balancing ties between Russia, Turkey, and the European Union, Moscow can ill afford further alienation of Baku.
‘You are personally overseeing the investigation, we had no doubt in its objectivity’ – Aliyev to Putin on plane crash probe.
— Viory Video (@vioryvideo) October 9, 2025
Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev, addressing Russian President Vladimir Putin, expressed gratitude for the support and transparency shown after the… pic.twitter.com/QgRRFc8k1p
Broader implications for aviation and conflict
The tragedy has reignited debate about the safety of civilian flights over conflict zones, echoing previous disasters such as the downing of Malaysia Airlines Flight MH17 over eastern Ukraine in 2014. Aviation experts have warned that as drone warfare expands, the risks of misidentification and accidental strikes on civilian aircraft are increasing.
The crash also underscores how far the consequences of the Ukraine conflict have spread beyond its borders. Airspace near Russia’s southern regions has become increasingly hazardous, with frequent drone alerts and missile launches disrupting both civilian and military operations.
For Azerbaijan, the admission brings some measure of vindication after months of diplomatic frustration.
