Putin apologises for ‘tragic incident’ involving Azerbaijan Airlines plane
Russian President Vladimir Putin on Saturday apologised to Ilham Aliyev, the president of Azerbaijan, for what the Kremlin said was a “tragic incident” in Russian airspace involving the Azerbaijan Airlines plane that crashed in Kazakhstan on 25 December.
The Kremlin said as the aircraft attempted to land in Grozny, Ukrainian drones were attacking Russia and Russian air defence forces repelled the attacks.
“During this time, Grozny, (the town of) Mozdok and Vladikavkaz were being attacked by Ukrainian combat drones and Russian air defence was repelling these attacks,” the Kremlin said Putin told Aliyev, without saying that Russian air defence hit the plane.
Key events
Russia’s state-owned Gazprom energy corporation has announced that it will halt gas supplies to Moldova from January 1 over a debt dispute during a state of emergency over energy security in the tiny country.
The move comes as several eastern European countries brace for an end to Russian gas supplies, Agence France-Presse reports.
Kyiv will block the flow of Russian gas via Ukraine in several days.
Moldova, sandwiched between Ukraine’s south-western border and Romania’s east, earlier this month introduced a 60-day state of emergency before the expected cut.
Gazprom will introduce a restriction on natural gas supplies to the Republic of Moldova to zero cubic meters per day from 0500 GMT [Greenwich Mean Time] on January 1, 2025,” the Russian company said in a statement, accusing Chisinau [the Moldovan capital] of failing to settle debts.
Gazprom accused Chisinau of not fulfilling its side of contracts and said it “reserved the right” for further action, including terminating a gas supply contract with Moldova.
Russia supplies Moldova with gas piped to the separatist region of Transnistria. Moldova gets most of its electricity from a power station based in Transnistria that uses Russian gas.
Vladimir Putin has phoned Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, his counterpart in Kazakhstan, to express his condolences over the loss of life in the plane crash that occurred on December 25 in Kazakhstan, the Kremlin said.
The Russian president made the call on Saturday, Reuters reports.
Flight J2-8243, en route from Baku to the Chechen capital Grozny, crashed on Wednesday near Aktau in Kazakhstan after diverting from southern Russia, where Ukrainian drones were attacking several cities.
At least 38 people were killed. Some survivors were pulled from the wreckage.
The Kremlin said that the two presidents had agreed to stay in constant contact over the investigation into the crash.
Summary
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Vladimir Putin on Saturday apologised to Ilham Aliyev, the president of Azerbaijan, for what the Kremlin said was a “tragic incident” involving an Azerbaijan Airlines plane. The Kremlin said: “At that time, Grozny, Mozdok and Vladikavkaz were being attacked by Ukrainian unmanned aerial vehicles, and Russian air defence systems repelled these attacks.” The Kremlin said “civilian and military specialists” were being questioned.
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In the conversation with Putin, Aliyev “emphasised that the Azerbaijan Airlines passenger plane encountered external physical and technical interference while in Russian airspace, resulting in a complete loss of control”.
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Zelenskyy says Russia “must provide clear explanations” for the plane crash. Posting on X, he said: “The key priority now is a thorough investigation to provide answers to all questions about what really happened. Russia must provide clear explanations and stop spreading disinformation.”
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The European Union’s top diplomat, Kaja Kallas, has called for a “swift, independent” probe into the Azerbaijan Airlines crash.
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Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB) says it has foiled a plot by Ukraine to kill a high-ranking Russian officer and a pro-Russian war blogger with a bomb hidden in a portable music speaker.
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Germany said the suspected sabotage of an undersea power cable linking Finland and Estonia this week was a “wake-up call” that demanded new EU sanctions against Russia’s “shadow fleet”, Agence France-Presse reports.
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Russia’s SVR foreign intelligence service accused American and British spies of trying to provoke attacks against Russian military bases in Syria in a bid to force the evacuation of the bases, the state-run RIA news agency said on Saturday. The SVR gave no evidence for its allegation.
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Ukraine said on Saturday it had struck a storage and maintenance depot for long-range Shahed drones in Russia’s Oryol region, adding that this had “significantly reduced” Russia’s ability to launch mass drone attacks on Ukraine.
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North Korean troops deployed in Russia’s Kursk region are suffering heavy losses and being left unprotected by the Russian forces they are fighting alongside, according to Ukraine, while the US says Russian and North Korean generals see the soldiers as “expendable”.
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Russia’s foreign ministry said it had responded to a new package of European Union sanctions by significantly expanding a list of EU and EU member state officials banned from entering Russia.
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Italian police said on Saturday that they were investigating cyberattacks claimed by a pro-Russian group targeting several websites including Milan’s airports and the foreign ministry.
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Regular flights between Ashgabat and Moscow are to be suspended for a month from 30 December after an Azerbaijan Airlines jet crashed in Kazakhstan, the state-run Tass news agency reported on Saturday citing Turkmenistan’s national air carrier.
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Russia has lost 784,200 troops in Ukraine since the beginning of its full-scale invasion on 24 February 2022, the General Staff of Ukraine’s Armed Forces reported. This number includes 1,690 Russian casualties over the past day.
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The Biden administration pledged to approve fresh military aid to Ukraine, including crucial air defence systems. John Kirby, the US national security communications adviser, said the promised US security assistance package was expected to be announced “in the next couple of days”.
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Slovakia has confirmed its readiness to host any peace talks between Russia and Ukraine, despite Kyiv’s accusation that it is playing into the hands of Vladimir Putin. The Slovak prime minister, Robert Fico, said on Facebook late on Friday: “If someone wants to organise peace talks in Slovakia, we will be ready and hospitable.”
Here are some images coming to us over the wires:
EU urges ‘swift, independent’ probe into Azerbaijan Airlines crash
The European Union’s top diplomat on Saturday called for a “swift, independent” probe into the Azerbaijan Airlines crash, after the US suggested the incident may have been caused by a Russian anti-aircraft missile.
Kaja Kallas, the EU’s foreign affairs chief posted on X:
Reports that Russian fire could have caused the Azerbaijan Airlines plane are a stark reminder of #MH17. I call for a swift, independent international investigation. Our thoughts are with the families and friends of the victims. I wish for a speedy recovery to the injured.
Azerbaijan president highlighted holes in aircraft during phone call with Putin
Here is the response from Azerbaijan. Regarding the phone call with Putin, Baku’s presidency said in a statement:
President Ilham Aliyev emphasized that the Azerbaijan Airlines passenger plane encountered external physical and technical interference while in Russian airspace, resulting in a complete loss of control.
It added Aliyev:
…highlighted that the multiple holes in the aircraft’s fuselage, injuries sustained by passengers and crew due to foreign particles penetrating the cabin mid-flight, and testimonies from surviving flight attendants and passengers confirm evidence of external physical and technical interference.
Russia’s foreign ministry said on Saturday it had responded to a new package of European Union sanctions by significantly expanding a list of EU and EU member state officials banned from entering Russia, Reuters reports.
On Monday, the European Union imposed a 15th package of sanctions against Russia, including tougher measures against Chinese entities and more vessels from Moscow’s so-called shadow fleet.
Russia’s foreign ministry said in a statement it had responded by adding more unnamed “representatives of security agencies, state and commercial organisations of EU countries, and citizens of EU member states responsible for providing military aid to Kyiv” to its stop list.
Just as a reminder, the White House said yesterday that the US had seen early indications that the jet was possibly brought down by Russian air defence systems, echoing claims by Ukrainian officials and sources in Azerbaijan.
The Embraer EMBR3.SA passenger jet had flown from Azerbaijan’s capital Baku to Grozny, in Russia’s southern Chechnya region, before veering off hundreds of miles across the Caspian Sea.
Summary
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Vladimir Putin on Saturday apologised to Ilham Aliyev, the president of Azerbaijan, for what the Kremlin said was a “tragic incident” involving an Azerbaijan Airlines plane. The Kremlin said as the aircraft attempted to land in Grozny, Ukrainian drones were attacking Russia and Russian air defence forces repelled the attacks.
-
Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB) says it has foiled a plot by Ukraine to kill a high-ranking Russian officer and a pro-Russian war blogger with a bomb hidden in a portable music speaker.
-
Germany said the suspected sabotage of an undersea power cable linking Finland and Estonia this week was a “wake-up call” that demanded new EU sanctions against Russia’s “shadow fleet”, Agence France-Presse reports.
-
Russia’s SVR foreign intelligence service accused American and British spies of trying to provoke attacks against Russian military bases in Syria in a bid to force the evacuation of the bases, the state-run RIA news agency said on Saturday. The SVR gave no evidence for its allegation.
-
Ukraine said on Saturday it had struck a storage and maintenance depot for long-range Shahed drones in Russia’s Oryol region, adding that this had “significantly reduced” Russia’s ability to launch mass drone attacks on Ukraine.
-
North Korean troops deployed in Russia’s Kursk region are suffering heavy losses and being left unprotected by the Russian forces they are fighting alongside, according to Ukraine, while the US says Russian and North Korean generals see the soldiers as “expendable”.
-
Italian police said Saturday that they were investigating cyberattacks claimed by a pro-Russian group targeting several websites including Milan’s airports and the foreign ministry.
-
Regular flights between Ashgabat and Moscow are to be suspended for a month from 30 December after an Azerbaijan Airlines jet crashed in Kazakhstan, the state-run Tass news agency reported on Saturday citing Turkmenistan’s national air carrier.
-
Russia has lost 784,200 troops in Ukraine since the beginning of its full-scale invasion on 24 February 2022, the General Staff of Ukraine’s Armed Forces reported. This number includes 1,690 Russian casualties over the past day.
-
The Biden administration pledged to approve fresh military aid to Ukraine, including crucial air defence systems. John Kirby, the US national security communications adviser, said the promised US security assistance package was expected to be announced “in the next couple of days”.
-
Slovakia has confirmed its readiness to host any peace talks between Russia and Ukraine, despite Kyiv’s accusation that it is playing into the hands of Vladimir Putin. The Slovak prime minister, Robert Fico, said on Facebook late on Friday: “If someone wants to organise peace talks in Slovakia, we will be ready and hospitable.”
Full statement from the Kremlin
We are getting more from Reuters on the conversation between Putin and Ilham Aliyev, the president of Azerbaijan.
In a statement, the Kremlin said:
(President) Vladimir Putin apologised 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.
It was noted in the conversation that the Azerbaijani passenger aircraft, which was travelling according to its schedule, repeatedly tried to land at Grozny airport. At that time, Grozny, Mozdok and Vladikavkaz were being attacked by Ukrainian unmanned aerial vehicles, and Russian air defense systems repelled these attacks.
Aliyev told Putin the passenger plane was subjected to extraneous physical and technical intereference in Russian airspace, completely lost control and was diverted to Aktau, Reuters adds.
Putin apologises for ‘tragic incident’ involving Azerbaijan Airlines plane
Russian President Vladimir Putin on Saturday apologised to Ilham Aliyev, the president of Azerbaijan, for what the Kremlin said was a “tragic incident” in Russian airspace involving the Azerbaijan Airlines plane that crashed in Kazakhstan on 25 December.
The Kremlin said as the aircraft attempted to land in Grozny, Ukrainian drones were attacking Russia and Russian air defence forces repelled the attacks.
“During this time, Grozny, (the town of) Mozdok and Vladikavkaz were being attacked by Ukrainian combat drones and Russian air defence was repelling these attacks,” the Kremlin said Putin told Aliyev, without saying that Russian air defence hit the plane.
