Russian President Vladimir Putin has expressed his apologies to Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev following a devastating aircraft crash that occurred earlier this week. The crash, which happened in Russian airspace, resulted within the tragic lack of 38 lives, with 29 survivors.
The incident has deeply affected each nations, prompting condolences and requires additional investigation.
Particulars of the Incident
The flight concerned an Azerbaijan Airways Embraer 190 plane, which was touring from Baku, Azerbaijan, to Grozny, Russia. Throughout its journey, the aircraft encountered extreme difficulties and was pressured to divert to the Grozny airport.
Nevertheless, on the time of the tried touchdown, the realm was below assault by Ukrainian unmanned aerial autos (UAVs). Based on the Kremlin, the aircraft made repeated makes an attempt to land at Grozny, however Ukrainian drones had been attacking a number of cities within the area, together with Grozny, Mozdok, and Vladikavkaz.
Russian air protection programs reportedly repelled these UAV assaults, however the aircraft crashed close to the western Kazakh metropolis of Aktau, on the shores of the Caspian Sea. The plane went down in a ball of fireside, and it was later revealed that the crash occurred after diverting from southern Russia because of the ongoing drone strikes.
Putin’s Apology
In a press release, the Kremlin confirmed that President Putin had apologized to President Aliyev for the “tragic incident” and expressed his honest condolences to the households of the victims. Putin additionally wished a speedy restoration to those that survived the crash.
The Kremlin’s assertion elaborated on the sequence of occasions, noting that the aircraft had been on schedule however was caught in a harmful scenario because it tried to land amidst ongoing assaults on close by cities.
Speculations and Airline Responses
Whereas the reason for the crash remains to be below investigation, there have been ideas from Western specialists and the U.S. that the aircraft may need been unintentionally downed by a Russian anti-aircraft missile.
Moscow has kept away from commenting on these studies, leaving the hypothesis unresolved for now.
Following the incident, a number of worldwide airways have introduced the suspension of flights to Russian cities, citing security considerations. Notably, Turkmenistan Airways, the nationwide provider of Turkmenistan, has canceled flights between Ashgabat and Moscow from December 30, 2024, to January 31, 2025.
Equally, Flydubai, an airline based mostly within the UAE, has halted its providers between Dubai and southern Russian cities resembling Mineralnye Vody and Sochi, affecting flights scheduled between December 27 and January 3.
