Russia Admits to Azerbaijan Flight Shootdown

Thirty-eight of the 67 people on board were killed in the December 2024 incident.

Zach Vasile

Thursday, October 09, 2025 at 03:30 PM ET

Verified

Edited By:

Ryan Ewing

Azerbaijan Airlines aircraft in Georgia [Shutterstock/Libin Jose]

Key Takeaways:

Russian President Vladimir Putin formally acknowledged his country's responsibility for downing Azerbaijan Airlines Flight 8243 in December, an incident that killed 38 of the 67 people on board.
Putin stated that Russian air defenses shot down the commercial flight due to a "technical malfunction" while attempting to target Ukrainian drones in Russian airspace.
Russia has pledged to provide compensation and conduct a legal assessment of responsible officials' actions, an admission that has seemingly eased previous tensions with close ally Azerbaijan.

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Russian President Vladimir Putin on Thursday formally acknowledged his country’s responsibility for downing an Azerbaijani commercial flight in December of last year, killing 38 of the 67 people on board.

Speaking at a meeting with Azerbaijan President Ilham Aliyev, Putin said Russian air defenses shot down Azerbaijan Airlines Flight 8243 while trying to target Ukrainian drones in Russian airspace. He blamed a “technical malfunction” for the misfire.