Putin apologizes for deadly crash; Zelensky demands answers
Vladimir Putin apologized during a telephone conversation with Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev for the "tragic incident" involving an Azerbaijani plane that crashed in Kazakhstan on Wednesday.
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"Vladimir Putin apologized for the tragic incident that occurred in Russian airspace. He once again expressed his deep and sincere condolences to the families of the victims of the plane crash and wished a speedy recovery to the injured," the Kremlin press office said in a published statement.
Zelensky reacts
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky also spoke with the President of Azerbaijan. He posted online, blaming Russia for the plane crash. "Russia must provide explanations and stop spreading misinformation. Photos and videos clearly show damage to the aircraft fuselage, including punctures and dents, which clearly indicate a hit by an air defense missile," Zelensky wrote on the platform X.
The president assured Kyiv's support for Baku and announced the "intensification of bilateral contacts in the near future."
Azerbaijani plane crash
An Azerbaijan Airlines plane was flying from the Azerbaijani capital, Baku, to Grozny in Chechnya, in the south of the Russian Federation on Wednesday when it veered off course and crashed in Kazakhstan. Most passengers on the Embraer-190 plane were citizens of Azerbaijan. There were also 16 Russians and several citizens of Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan on board.
In the crash, 38 people died and 29 survived.
AZAL Airlines informed on Friday that, according to preliminary findings, the passenger plane crash was caused by "external physical and technical interference".
Source: TASS, RIA Novosti, PAP, WP Wiadomosci
