© Andrew Weber-Imagn Images
(Moscow, Russia) – Russian President Vladimir Putin is sharing condolences for those lost in a Christmas Day plane crash. The Kremlin says Putin made a formal apology on the phone with the President of Azerbaijan. This past Wednesday, an Azerbaijan Airlines plane was shot down in Russian airspace over Kazakhstan. That crash claimed the lives of 38 people and injured 29 others. Passengers and crew that survived the crash told the media they heard loud noises or explosions right before the plane went down. Putin said it was “a tragic incident”, but did not claim any responsibility in the crash.
Russian investigators have announced they are opening a criminal case into whether any air safety & traffic regulations were violated leading up to the crash. Moscow has also claimed that their military defense systems were active in the area where the plane was trying to land.
