Vladimir Putin has spoken in detail about how the Russians shot down an AZAL airliner last December. The Russian president made the admission during a meeting with Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev.

He said the disaster was caused by a Ukrainian drone that was in the air. He said the Russian air defense system launched two missiles that did not hit the plane directly, but exploded a few meters away. It was not shrapnel from the missile subsystems that hit the plane, but presumably “debris” from the explosion, Putin added.

Although he noted that he had previously apologized for the “tragedy” that occurred in Russian airspace, he reiterated his condolences to the families of the victims and added that Russia would participate in the investigation into the cause of the disaster. “Of course, Russia will do everything in its power to provide compensation in such tragic cases, and the actions of all officials will be subject to legal assessment,” Putin said.

An Azeri Airlines plane was preparing to land in Grozny on December 25 when it was hit by Russian air defenses. The severely damaged plane was then denied permission to land at Russian airports and was instead diverted to Aktau, Kazakhstan, across the Caspian Sea. The pilots successfully approached the runway, although the Embraer could only be controlled somewhat by varying the power of the turbines. The plane rolled onto its side during the emergency landing and caught fire, but 29 people in the rear of the plane survived the impact. Of the 67 people on board, 38 died at the scene.

Putin found it difficult to admit. He himself had previously denied that Russian air defenses had anything to do with the tragedy. In December, Aliyev said: “One of the things that saddened and surprised me was that the Russian authorities also spread theories about a gas cylinder exploding. So it was clear that the Russian side wanted to cover up the issue.”