Russian President Vladimir Putin publicly acknowledged on Thursday that Russian air defenses were responsible for the downing of an Azerbaijani jetliner in December 2024, resulting in the deaths of 38 people.

Putin explained that two missiles fired by Russian forces to target a Ukrainian drone narrowly missed their intended target, exploding just 10 meters from the Azerbaijan Airlines Embraer 190. Azerbaijani authorities previously stated that the aircraft was inadvertently hit by Russian fire, leading to its crash in western Kazakhstan after attempting to land.

Following the crash, Putin offered an apology to Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev, calling the event a “tragic incident,” though he did not explicitly accept responsibility at that time. In response, Mr. Aliyev criticized Moscow for allegedly attempting to “hush up” the incident, further straining the already tense relations between the two nations.

This marks the first time Putin has admitted responsibility for the incident, which has heightened tensions between Russia and Azerbaijan.