Putin apologises for 'tragic incident' involving Azerbaijan Airlines plane
Russian President Vladimir Putin on Saturday apologised to Ilham Aliyev, the president of Azerbaijan, for what the Kremlin said was a “tragic incident” in Russian airspace involving the Azerbaijan Airlines plane that crashed in Kazakhstan on 25 December.
The Kremlin said as the aircraft attempted to land in Grozny, Ukrainian drones were attacking Russia and Russian air defence forces repelled the attacks.
“During this time, Grozny, (the town of) Mozdok and Vladikavkaz were being attacked by Ukrainian combat drones and Russian air defence was repelling these attacks,” the Kremlin said Putin told Aliyev, without saying that Russian air defence hit the plane.
Belarus’ authoritarian leader Alexander Lukashenko pardoned 20 more people that rights activists describe as political prisoners, a statement on the president’s website said Saturday. The announcement came amid persistent oppression in the runup to presidential elections next month that are likely to extend Lukashenko’s decades-long rule.
Vladimir Putin on Saturday apologised to Ilham Aliyev, the president of Azerbaijan, for what the Kremlin said was a “tragic incident” involving an Azerbaijan Airlines plane. The Kremlin said: “At that time, Grozny, Mozdok and Vladikavkaz were being attacked by Ukrainian unmanned aerial vehicles, and Russian air defence systems repelled these attacks.” The Kremlin added that “civilian and military specialists” were being questioned.
In the conversation with Putin, Aliyev “emphasised that the Azerbaijan Airlines passenger plane encountered external physical and technical interference while in Russian airspace, resulting in a complete loss of control”.
Zelenskyy says Russia “must provide clear explanations” for the plane crash. Posting on X, he said: “The key priority now is a thorough investigation to provide answers to all questions about what really happened. Russia must provide clear explanations and stop spreading disinformation.”
The EU’s top diplomat, Kaja Kallas, has called for a “swift, independent” probe into the Azerbaijan Airlines crash.
Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB) says it has foiled a plot by Ukraine to kill a high-ranking Russian officer and a pro-Russian war blogger with a bomb hidden in a portable music speaker.
Russia’s SVR foreign intelligence service accused American and British spies of trying to provoke attacks against Russian military bases in Syria in a bid to force the evacuation of the bases, the state-run RIA news agency said on Saturday. The SVR gave no evidence for its allegation.
Ukraine said on Saturday it had struck a storage and maintenance depot for long-range Shahed drones in Russia’s Oryol region, adding that this had “significantly reduced” Russia’s ability to launch mass drone attacks on Ukraine.
Russia’s state-owned Gazprom energy corporation has announced that it will halt gas supplies to Moldova from 1 January due to a debt dispute during a state of emergency over energy security in the tiny country. The move comes as several eastern European countries brace for an end to Russian gas supplies, Agence France-Presse reports.
North Korean troops deployed in Russia’s Kursk region are suffering heavy losses and being left unprotected by the Russian forces they are fighting alongside, according to Ukraine, while the US says Russian and North Korean generals see the soldiers as “expendable”.
The United States is expected to announce on Monday that it will send $1.25bn (£994m) in further military assistance to Ukraine. The Biden administration is pushing to get as much aid to Kyiv as possible before the US president, Joe Biden, leaves office on 20 January and is succeeded by the Republican president-elect Donald Trump, who appears to be resistant to such spending to help Ukraine.
Russia’s foreign ministry said it had responded to a new package of EU sanctions by significantly expanding a list of EU and EU member state officials banned from entering Russia.
Italian police said on Saturday that they were investigating cyberattacks claimed by a pro-Russian group targeting several websites including Milan’s airports and the foreign ministry.
Regular flights between Ashgabat and Moscow are to be suspended for a month from 30 December after an Azerbaijan Airlines jet crashed in Kazakhstan, the state-run Tass news agency reported on Saturday citing Turkmenistan’s national air carrier.
Russia has lost 784,200 troops in Ukraine since the beginning of its full-scale invasion on 24 February 2022, the general staff of Ukraine’s armed forces reported. This number includes 1,690 Russian casualties over the past day.
The Biden administration pledged to approve fresh military aid to Ukraine, including crucial air defence systems. John Kirby, the US national security communications adviser, said the promised US security assistance package was expected to be announced “in the next couple of days”.
Slovakia has confirmed its readiness to host any peace talks between Russia and Ukraine, despite Kyiv’s accusation that it is playing into the hands of Vladimir Putin. The Slovak prime minister, Robert Fico, said on Facebook late on Friday: “If someone wants to organise peace talks in Slovakia, we will be ready and hospitable.”
In case you missed it earlier, Vladimir Putin has apologised for a “tragic incident” in which an Azerbaijan Airlines plane crashed on Christmas Day, but stopped short of admitting Russia was responsible.
The Kremlin said in an official statement that Putin had spoken to Azerbaijan’s president, Ilham Aliyev, on Saturday by phone in his first comments since the crash, which killed 38 of the 67 people onboard.
“Vladimir Putin apologised for the tragic incident that occurred in Russian airspace and once again expressed his deep and sincere condolences to the families of the victims and wished a speedy recovery to the injured,” the statement said.
Ukraine’s president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, meanwhile, said he had expressed condolences to President Aliyev and called on Russia for a clearer explanation of the crash.
Belarus’ authoritarian leader Alexander Lukashenko pardoned 20 more people that rights activists describe as political prisoners, a statement on the president’s website said Saturday.
The announcement came amid persistent oppression in the runup to presidential elections next month that are likely to extend Lukashenko’s decades-long rule.
Belarusian officials did not provide the names of those released, but the statement posted on the president’s website said all of them had been convicted of “crimes of an extremist nature.”
The statement said the group included 11 women and 14 of those pardoned suffered from chronic illnesses.
“All of those released repented for their actions and appealed to the head of state to be pardoned,” the presidential administration said in a statement, using wording familiar from a series of previous group pardons in the past six months.
Saturday’s announcement marks the eighth such pardon by Lukashenko since the summer. In all, 207 political prisoners have been freed, according to Belarus’ oldest and most established human rights group, Viasna.
The United States is expected to announce on Monday that it will send $1.25bn (£994m) in further military assistance to Ukraine.
The Biden administration is pushing to get as much aid to Kyiv as possible before the US president, Joe Biden, leaves office on 20 January and is succeeded by the Republican president-elect Donald Trump, who appears to be resistant to such spending to help Ukraine.
The large package of aid includes a significant amount of munitions, including for the National Advanced Surface-to-Air Missile Systems and the HAWK air defence system. It also will provide Stinger missiles and 155 mm- and 105 mm artillery rounds, officials said and Reuters reported.
The officials, who said on Friday that they expect the announcement to be made on Monday, spoke on condition of anonymity to provide details not yet made public.
Earlier this month, senior US defence officials acknowledged that that the Defence Department may not be able to send all of the remaining $5.6bn in Pentagon weapons and equipment stocks passed by Congress for Ukraine before Trump is sworn in.
Servicemen carry coffins of soldiers killed in battles with Russian troops as people stand kneeling to say the last goodbye during the “Mourning Christmas Carol” on the Mars Field military cemetery in Lviv, western Ukraine today. Photograph: Mykola Tys/AP
Russia’s state-owned Gazprom energy corporation has announced that it will halt gas supplies to Moldova from 1 January due to a debt dispute during a state of emergency over energy security in the tiny country.
The move comes as several eastern European countries brace for an end to Russian gas supplies, Agence France-Presse reports.
Kyiv will block the flow of Russian gas via Ukraine in several days.
Moldova, sandwiched between Ukraine’s south-western border and Romania’s east, earlier this month introduced a 60-day state of emergency before the expected cut.
Gazprom will introduce a restriction on natural gas supplies to the Republic of Moldova to zero cubic meters per day from 0500 GMT [Greenwich Mean Time] on January 1, 2025,” the Russian company said in a statement, accusing Chisinau [the Moldovan capital] of failing to settle debts.
Gazprom accused Chisinau of not fulfilling its side of contracts and said it “reserved the right” for further action, including terminating a gas supply contract with Moldova.
Russia supplies Moldova with gas piped to the separatist region of Transnistria. Moldova gets most of its electricity from a power station based in Transnistria that uses Russian gas.
Vladimir Putin has phoned Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, his counterpart in Kazakhstan, to express his condolences over the loss of life in the plane crash that occurred on 25 December in Kazakhstan, the Kremlin said.
The Russian president made the call on Saturday, Reuters reports.
Flight J2-8243, en route from Baku to the Chechen capital Grozny, crashed on Wednesday near Aktau in Kazakhstan after diverting from southern Russia, where Ukrainian drones were attacking several cities.
At least 38 people were killed. Some survivors were pulled from the wreckage.
The Kremlin said that the two presidents had agreed to stay in constant contact over the investigation into the crash.
Kazakh president Kassym-Jomart Tokayev attends an expanded format meeting of the Supreme Eurasian Economic Council at the Igora ski resort outside St. Petersburg, Russia, 26 December 2024. Photograph: Gavriil Grigorov/SPUTNIK/KREMLIN POOL/EPA
Vladimir Putin on Saturday apologised to Ilham Aliyev, the president of Azerbaijan, for what the Kremlin said was a “tragic incident” involving an Azerbaijan Airlines plane. The Kremlin said: “At that time, Grozny, Mozdok and Vladikavkaz were being attacked by Ukrainian unmanned aerial vehicles, and Russian air defence systems repelled these attacks.” The Kremlin added that “civilian and military specialists” were being questioned.
In the conversation with Putin, Aliyev “emphasised that the Azerbaijan Airlines passenger plane encountered external physical and technical interference while in Russian airspace, resulting in a complete loss of control”.
Zelenskyy says Russia “must provide clear explanations” for the plane crash. Posting on X, he said: “The key priority now is a thorough investigation to provide answers to all questions about what really happened. Russia must provide clear explanations and stop spreading disinformation.”
The EU’s top diplomat, Kaja Kallas, has called for a “swift, independent” probe into the Azerbaijan Airlines crash.
Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB) says it has foiled a plot by Ukraine to kill a high-ranking Russian officer and a pro-Russian war blogger with a bomb hidden in a portable music speaker.
Russia’s SVR foreign intelligence service accused American and British spies of trying to provoke attacks against Russian military bases in Syria in a bid to force the evacuation of the bases, the state-run RIA news agency said on Saturday. The SVR gave no evidence for its allegation.
Ukraine said on Saturday it had struck a storage and maintenance depot for long-range Shahed drones in Russia’s Oryol region, adding that this had “significantly reduced” Russia’s ability to launch mass drone attacks on Ukraine.
North Korean troops deployed in Russia’s Kursk region are suffering heavy losses and being left unprotected by the Russian forces they are fighting alongside, according to Ukraine, while the US says Russian and North Korean generals see the soldiers as “expendable”.
Russia’s foreign ministry said it had responded to a new package of EU sanctions by significantly expanding a list of EU and EU member state officials banned from entering Russia.
Italian police said on Saturday that they were investigating cyberattacks claimed by a pro-Russian group targeting several websites including Milan’s airports and the foreign ministry.
Regular flights between Ashgabat and Moscow are to be suspended for a month from 30 December after an Azerbaijan Airlines jet crashed in Kazakhstan, the state-run Tass news agency reported on Saturday citing Turkmenistan’s national air carrier.
Russia has lost 784,200 troops in Ukraine since the beginning of its full-scale invasion on 24 February 2022, the general staff of Ukraine’s armed forces reported. This number includes 1,690 Russian casualties over the past day.
The Biden administration pledged to approve fresh military aid to Ukraine, including crucial air defence systems. John Kirby, the US national security communications adviser, said the promised US security assistance package was expected to be announced “in the next couple of days”.
Slovakia has confirmed its readiness to host any peace talks between Russia and Ukraine, despite Kyiv’s accusation that it is playing into the hands of Vladimir Putin. The Slovak prime minister, Robert Fico, said on Facebook late on Friday: “If someone wants to organise peace talks in Slovakia, we will be ready and hospitable.”
Relatives of Ukrainian soldiers, who lost their lives in Russia-Ukraine war, and their comrades-in-arms gather at the Lychakiv Cemetery for a joint prayer on in Lviv, Ukraine, Photograph: Anadolu/Getty Images
A boy looks out of a damaged window into the street after a Russian drone attack in Mykolaiv, Ukraine. Photograph: Global Images Ukraine/Getty Images
Ukrainians light candles in an old church during the Christmas celebration in a village, near Kyiv, Ukraine, on 28 December 2024. Photograph: Sergey Dolzhenko/EPA
EU urges 'swift, independent' probe into Azerbaijan Airlines crash
The European Union’s top diplomat on Saturday called for a “swift, independent” probe into the Azerbaijan Airlines crash, after the US suggested the incident may have been caused by a Russian anti-aircraft missile.
Kaja Kallas, the EU’s foreign affairs chief posted on X:
Reports that Russian fire could have caused the Azerbaijan Airlines plane are a stark reminder of #MH17. I call for a swift, independent international investigation. Our thoughts are with the families and friends of the victims. I wish for a speedy recovery to the injured.
Azerbaijan president highlighted holes in aircraft during phone call with Putin
Here is the response from Azerbaijan. Regarding the phone call with Putin, Baku’s presidency said in a statement:
President Ilham Aliyev emphasized that the Azerbaijan Airlines passenger plane encountered external physical and technical interference while in Russian airspace, resulting in a complete loss of control.
It added Aliyev:
…highlighted that the multiple holes in the aircraft’s fuselage, injuries sustained by passengers and crew due to foreign particles penetrating the cabin mid-flight, and testimonies from surviving flight attendants and passengers confirm evidence of external physical and technical interference.
Russia’s foreign ministry said on Saturday it had responded to a new package of European Union sanctions by significantly expanding a list of EU and EU member state officials banned from entering Russia, Reuters reports.
On Monday, the European Union imposed a 15th package of sanctions against Russia, including tougher measures against Chinese entities and more vessels from Moscow’s so-called shadow fleet.
Russia’s foreign ministry said in a statement it had responded by adding more unnamed “representatives of security agencies, state and commercial organisations of EU countries, and citizens of EU member states responsible for providing military aid to Kyiv” to its stop list.
Just as a reminder, the White House said yesterday that the US had seen early indications that the jet was possibly brought down by Russian air defence systems, echoing claims by Ukrainian officials and sources in Azerbaijan.
The Embraer EMBR3.SA passenger jet had flown from Azerbaijan’s capital Baku to Grozny, in Russia’s southern Chechnya region, before veering off hundreds of miles across the Caspian Sea.
Footage shows holes visible in Azerbaijan Airlines wreckage – video
Vladimir Putin on Saturday apologised to Ilham Aliyev, the president of Azerbaijan, for what the Kremlin said was a “tragic incident” involving an Azerbaijan Airlines plane. The Kremlin said as the aircraft attempted to land in Grozny, Ukrainian drones were attacking Russia and Russian air defence forces repelled the attacks.
Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB) says it has foiled a plot by Ukraine to kill a high-ranking Russian officer and a pro-Russian war blogger with a bomb hidden in a portable music speaker.
Russia’s SVR foreign intelligence service accused American and British spies of trying to provoke attacks against Russian military bases in Syria in a bid to force the evacuation of the bases, the state-run RIA news agency said on Saturday. The SVR gave no evidence for its allegation.
Ukraine said on Saturday it had struck a storage and maintenance depot for long-range Shahed drones in Russia’s Oryol region, adding that this had “significantly reduced” Russia’s ability to launch mass drone attacks on Ukraine.
North Korean troops deployed in Russia’s Kursk region are suffering heavy losses and being left unprotected by the Russian forces they are fighting alongside, according to Ukraine, while the US says Russian and North Korean generals see the soldiers as “expendable”.
Italian police said Saturday that they were investigating cyberattacks claimed by a pro-Russian group targeting several websites including Milan’s airports and the foreign ministry.
Regular flights between Ashgabat and Moscow are to be suspended for a month from 30 December after an Azerbaijan Airlines jet crashed in Kazakhstan, the state-run Tass news agency reported on Saturday citing Turkmenistan’s national air carrier.
Russia has lost 784,200 troops in Ukraine since the beginning of its full-scale invasion on 24 February 2022, the General Staff of Ukraine’s Armed Forces reported. This number includes 1,690 Russian casualties over the past day.
The Biden administration pledged to approve fresh military aid to Ukraine, including crucial air defence systems. John Kirby, the US national security communications adviser, said the promised US security assistance package was expected to be announced “in the next couple of days”.
Slovakia has confirmed its readiness to host any peace talks between Russia and Ukraine, despite Kyiv’s accusation that it is playing into the hands of Vladimir Putin. The Slovak prime minister, Robert Fico, said on Facebook late on Friday: “If someone wants to organise peace talks in Slovakia, we will be ready and hospitable.”
We are getting more from Reuters on the conversation between Putin and Ilham Aliyev, the president of Azerbaijan.
In a statement, the Kremlin said:
(President) Vladimir Putin apologised for the tragic incident that occurred in Russian airspace and once again expressed his deep and sincere condolences to the families of the victims and wished a speedy recovery to the injured.
It was noted in the conversation that the Azerbaijani passenger aircraft, which was travelling according to its schedule, repeatedly tried to land at Grozny airport. At that time, Grozny, Mozdok and Vladikavkaz were being attacked by Ukrainian unmanned aerial vehicles, and Russian air defense systems repelled these attacks.
Aliyev told Putin the passenger plane was subjected to extraneous physical and technical intereference in Russian airspace, completely lost control and was diverted to Aktau, Reuters adds.
Putin apologises for 'tragic incident' involving Azerbaijan Airlines plane
Russian President Vladimir Putin on Saturday apologised to Ilham Aliyev, the president of Azerbaijan, for what the Kremlin said was a “tragic incident” in Russian airspace involving the Azerbaijan Airlines plane that crashed in Kazakhstan on 25 December.
The Kremlin said as the aircraft attempted to land in Grozny, Ukrainian drones were attacking Russia and Russian air defence forces repelled the attacks.
“During this time, Grozny, (the town of) Mozdok and Vladikavkaz were being attacked by Ukrainian combat drones and Russian air defence was repelling these attacks,” the Kremlin said Putin told Aliyev, without saying that Russian air defence hit the plane.
