Russian President Vladimir Putin today apologized to the President of Azerbaijan, Ilham Aliyev, for the “tragic incident” that occurred in Russian airspace in which an Azerbaijan Airlines passenger plane crashed on Wednesday.
Flight J2-8243 crashed into a fireball near the city of Aktau, Kazakhstan, after diverting from southern Russia, where Ukrainian drones were reported to be attacking several cities. At least 38 people died and 29 survived.
Four sources with knowledge of the preliminary results of Azerbaijan’s investigation into the disaster told Reuters on Thursday that Russian air defenses had shot it down by mistake.
“Vladimir Putin apologized for the tragic incident that occurred in Russian airspace and once again expressed his deep and sincere condolences to the families of the victims and wished a speedy recovery to the injured,” the Kremlin said in a statement.
Up to 29 people survived the incident
“In the conversation it was noted that the Azerbaijani passenger plane, which was flying on schedule, tried several times to land at Grozny airport. At that time, Grozny, Mozdok and Vladikavkaz were attacked by Ukrainian unmanned aerial vehicles, and Russian air defense systems repelled these attacks,” the Kremlin reported.
Ilham Aliyev, president of Azerbaijan, had noted that the plane had been “subjected to external physical and technical interference in Russian airspace, resulting in a complete loss of control and redirection to the Kazakh city of Aktau,” according to the office. Presidential of Azerbaijan.
Source: www.lavanguardia.com
