Putin makes mealy-mouthed APOLOGY after passenger plane was shot down by Russian missile killing 38
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A SHAMED Vladimir Putin made a mealy-mouthed apology after a passenger plane is believed to have been shot down by a Russian missile. Moscow state media reported the tyrant said sorry over the crash that killed 38 people in a phone call with Azerbaijani president Ilham Aliyev.
![[Vladimir Putin said sorry over the Azerbaijani plane crash]](https://www.thesun.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/alexander-kazakov-kremlin-pool-alamy-960098336.jpg?strip=all&w=960)
But despite apologising, Vlad continued to dodge taking responsibility for the Christmas Day disaster - instead being merely sorry the incident happened in his airspace. He described the crash as a "tragic incident" - and admitted that Russian air defences were active at the time of the approach by the plane.
![[A drone view shows emergency specialists working at the crash site of an Azerbaijan Airlines passenger plane near the city of Aktau, Kazakhstan December 25, 2024. REUTERS/Azamat Sarsenbayev]](https://www.thesun.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/drone-view-shows-emergency-specialists-959775464_49d57b.jpg?strip=all&w=960)
The 72-year-old insisted they were repelling Ukrainian drones attacking the Russian region of Chechnya. It is understood Azerbaijan Airlines Flight 8243 was hit by a Russian air defence missile while going to land in Grozny after taking off from Baku in Azerbaijan.
Pilots bravely struggled on in their crippled airliner - managing to cross the Caspian Sea before plummeting to the ground near Aktau International Airport in Kazakhstan. In a statement on the phonecall, the Kremlin said: “A detailed discussion was held regarding the crash of an Azerbaijan Airlines passenger plane on 25 December near the city of Aktau in Kazakhstan.
“Vladimir Putin expressed his apologies for the fact that the tragic incident occurred in Russian airspace. “He once again extended his deepest and most sincere condolences to the families of the victims and wished a speedy recovery to those injured.
