Photo. Moscow Times

MOSCOW, Oct 9, 2025 (BSS/AFP) - Russian President Vladimir Putin on Thursday admitted for the first time his country played a role in the 2024 crash of an Azerbaijani passenger plane, describing it as a "tragedy".

In a meeting with Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev, Putin said Russia had deployed missiles to destroy Ukrainian drones on the night of the incident, and that they exploded "a few meters away" from the aircraft.

"Russia will do everything necessary in such tragic cases to provide compensation, and the actions of all officials will be legally assessed," he said.