The Russian missile that downed the Azeri civilian jet in December 2024 did not physically hit the plane but exploded nearby, Russian President Vladimir Putin told his Azeri counterpart Ilham Aliyev on Thursday. Ironically, that is exactly what the Pantsir-S missile is designed to do. JOIN US ON TELEGRAM Follow our coverage of the war on the @Kyivpost_official . Putin and Aliyev met in person – the first time since the incident – at the Kokhi Somon government residence in Dushanbe during the