Azerbaijan Airlines plane crash. Russia will pay compensation to the victims and the relatives of those killed
This is reported by the Azerbaijani publication Report, which cites a joint statement by the foreign ministries of both countries.
The statement reportedly states that the resolution of issues arising from the accident, including the payment of compensation, was agreed upon during a meeting between Putin and Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev on 9 October 2025.
“The steps taken demonstrate the parties’ joint efforts to further develop mutually beneficial cooperation within the framework of allied interaction. We are confident that the sustainable development of Azerbaijani-Russian relations, based on mutual respect, trust and consideration of the parties’ interests, will continue to contribute to the strengthening of good-neighbourly relations and the expansion of cooperation for the benefit of the peoples of both countries,” the joint statement added.
It was at the meeting on 9 October that Putin first acknowledged that the plane had crashed due to the actions of Russian air defence systems. However, he also claimed that the Azerbaijani plane had allegedly been struck not by the missiles themselves, but by their debris, as the missiles, he said, had exploded near the aircraft.
At the same time, the Kremlin leader blamed Ukraine for the crash, citing the presence of Ukrainian drones in Russian airspace at the time.
The Azerbaijan Airlines plane crash: what is known
On 25 December 2024, an Azerbaijan Airlines plane was flying from the Azerbaijani capital, Baku, to the Russian city of Grozny (Chechen Republic). However, after changing course several times, it crashed near Aktau in Kazakhstan. As a result, 38 people on board were killed.
Russian aviation authorities initially claimed that the crash was caused by a collision with birds. According to Grozny Airport, the aircraft was diverted to Makhachkala due to fog, and from there to Aktau. However, analysts have described these versions as dubious.
Although there was indeed fog over the region that morning, Grozny Airport was temporarily closed due to the declaration of the ‘Carpet’ plan amid drone attacks. The monitoring portal Flightradar24 stated that after approaching the Grozny area, the data on the aircraft’s flight path was distorted — likely due to GPS signal jamming and data tampering.
Footage of the aircraft’s tail section also circulated on social media — marks resembling impact damage are visible on the fuselage. OSINT analysts claimed that they resembled marks from a ‘Pantsir’ air defence system. At the same time, other bloggers suggested that the damage could have been caused by stones during the crash.
Russia and Kazakhstan urged people not to jump to conclusions. Meanwhile, according to media reports, Azerbaijan’s preliminary investigation indicated that the cause of the crash was a Russian missile, which may have been launched to repel drone attacks. This was also stated by Kirill Budanov, then head of the Main Intelligence Directorate of the Ukrainian Ministry of Defence.
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