Russian President Vladimir Putin has apologized for what he described as a “tragic incident” that ended the . Until now, Russia’s version is that the plane had collided with a flock of birds. This Saturday, Putin acknowledged that Grozny, the capital of the Russian republic of Chechnya, where the flight from Baku (Azerbaijan) was heading, was being attacked by Ukrainian drones, “and Russian air defense systems repelled these attacks.” . Experts had warned that .
“(President) 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. release. “At that time, Grozny, Mozdok and Vladikavkaz were being attacked by Ukrainian drones, and Russian air defense systems repelled these attacks,” he added. According to the Kremlin, the call came at Putin’s request.
Ilham Aliyev, president of Azerbaijan, had noted that the plane had been “subject to external physical and technical interference in Russian airspace, which caused a complete loss of control and its diversion to the Kazakh city of Aktau (Kazakhstan),” according to Azerbaijan’s presidential office.
The captain of flight J2-8243 had to make an emergency landing in Aktau (Kazakhstan), about 420 kilometers east of Grozny, on the opposite shore of the Caspian Sea. 38 of the 67 occupants died.
Photographs and videos recorded by passengers before and after the accident allowed aviation experts to make a quick assessment. The holes that could be seen on the outside of the aircraft, in the tail area, and inside, in life jackets, had most likely been caused by the impact of an anti-aircraft missile containing shrapnel. The testimony of some passengers who claimed that an explosion was heard outside also pointed to that hypothesis.
The evidence accumulated and sources from the Government of Azerbaijan, an ally of Russia, assured anonymously that preliminary results showed that the plane had been hit by a Russian Pantsir-S anti-aircraft defense system. Ukraine was the first country to openly endorse that theory.
The pressure was mounting on Moscow, which on Thursday had asked not to speculate until the investigation, led by Kazakhstan, was concluded. White House National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said Friday that the United States had “preliminary indications” that the plane may have been “shot down” by Russian forces. “We have offered our help to that investigation, should it be needed,” Kirby added without going into further detail.
This Saturday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky shared on social media that he had also called Ilham Aliyev to express his condolences. “The top priority now is a thorough investigation that answers all questions about what really happened. “Russia must give clear explanations and stop spreading disinformation,” he said.
The head of European diplomacy, Kaja Kallas, had called this Saturday for a “rapid and independent international investigation.” The EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security stressed that the case was “a harsh reminder of MH17.”
In July 2014, with 298 occupants on board, it was shot down in eastern Ukraine, while covering the route from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur. As on this occasion, commercial flight MH17 was shot down by a Russian rocket. In that case it was a Buk surface-to-air missile supplied by Moscow to the pro-Russian separatists in Donbas, who allegedly mistook the passenger plane for a military target. Russia never admitted its responsibility and despite pressure from the EU, European investigations also stopped short of blaming Moscow directly.
Several international airlines had announced since Thursday the suspension of their flights to Russia, concerned about the safety of their passengers. The first was Israeli El Al, which announced that it was suspending its flights to Moscow for a week. This has been followed by Kazakh Qazaq Air, which decided to cancel flights to the Russian city of Yekaterinburg until the end of January. The Emirati flydubai has also suspended two routes to Russia this week and next. Turkmenistan Airlines has joined the list of cancellations.
