Russian President Vladimir Putin apologized today (Saturday) to Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev for the downing of an Azerbaijani plane in Kazakhstan on Wednesday, calling it a 'tragic incident'.
The Kremlin reported that while the plane was attempting to land in Grozny, Ukrainian drones attacked Russia.
President Aliyev responded saying, "The plane's passengers experienced external technical disruptions in Russian airspace, lost complete control, and were directed back to Aktau."
The plane that crashed belonged to Azerbaijan Airlines and crashed in the city of Aktau, located in the southwest of the country. Kazakhstani authorities claim that 25 people survived out of 67 on board, including 62 passengers and five crew members.
On Thursday, El Al announced that it had suspended its Tel Aviv-Moscow route for the upcoming week. A new situation assessment will be conducted next week to decide whether to resume operations on this route. Following the crash, four airports in Moscow were temporarily closed.
Footage circulated online showed the plane descending sharply and crashing near the waterline of the port city, resulting in an explosion and flames. Initial details indicate the plane took off from Baku, the capital of Azerbaijan, and was en route to the city of Grozny in Russia's Chechen Republic.