Putin Expresses Regret Over Fatal Plane Crash, Sidesteps Blame for Incident

In his first public comments concerning the devastating Christmas Day plane crash, President Vladimir Putin reached out to Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev to offer his condolences and express regret for the loss of 38 lives. However, Putin notably did not accept responsibility for the incident, which reportedly occurred amid Russian air defense operations against Ukrainian drone attacks. The Azerbaijan Airlines flight had attempted to land in Chechnya but was redirected due to ongoing military activities, ultimately crashing in Kazakhstan.

The Kremlin officially announced this dialogue on Saturday, emphasizing Putin's sincere sympathies towards the bereaved and his wishes for quick recovery for the injured. Prior to this, the Kremlin had been silent on the matter, despite Russian aviation authorities acknowledging the complexity of the regional situation stemming from Ukrainian strikes. Reports indicate that Azerbaijani officials suspected that the aircraft's navigation systems were disrupted by electronic interference, which may have been compounded by damage from Russian missile fragments.

Furthermore, U.S. defense sources have indicated that they hold Russia liable for the unfortunate incident. Putin’s comments in the recent call shed light on the sequence of events, indicating that the flight encountered trouble amidst an active defense scenario in Chechnya, where both Grozny and other locations were under drone attack at the time. Russian investigators have initiated a criminal inquiry, while Azerbaijan has also signaled intentions to conduct their investigation. As more details unfold, this story remains under active development.