Putin admission on downed jet

PRESIDENT Vladimir Putin has said Russia's air defences were to blame for downing an Azerbaijani jetliner in December that killed 38 people, his first admission of responsibility for the crash in an apparent bid to ease tensions between the neighbours.

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Mr Putin, inset, said the missiles fired by Russian air defences to target a Ukrainian drone exploded near the Azerbaijani

Airlines plane flying from Baku as it was preparing to land in Grozny, the regional capital of the Russian republic of Chechnya, on December 25, 2024. Ukrainian drones have regularly struck deep inside Russia.