Russian projectiles exploded near AZAL flight, did not hit it directly, says Putin

DUSHANBE, October 9. /TASS/. Two Russian air defense projectiles launched on the day of the crash of an Azerbaijan Airlines (AZAL) flight near Aktau did not hit the aircraft directly but exploded several meters away.

The plane’s fuselage was likely hit by debris and not the missiles themselves, Russian President Vladimir Putin said at a meeting with his Azerbaijani counterpart Ilham Aliyev.

"A Ukrainian drone was in the sky," the Russian leader said. "And there was a technical malfunction of the Russian air defense system itself," he added.

"The two projectiles that were launched did not hit the aircraft directly – in that case, it would have crashed on the spot," he explained.

"They exploded, probably while self-destructing, within several meters, about ten meters away. And this is what caused the damage but, mostly, it was not from combat damaging elements but most likely from debris," Putin added. "This is precisely why the pilot believed they had hit a flock of birds," he noted.