in which 38 people were killed - but stopped short of saying Russia was responsible. In his first comments on the Christmas Day crash, Putin said the "tragic incident" had occurred when Russian air defence systems were actively repelling Ukrainian drones.

Russia's leader Vladimir Putin has called Azerbaijan president Ilham Aliyev to say sorry for Russian air defences firing at the plane which crash landed in Kazakhstan killing 38 people

The Kremlin has said that Putin "apologized for the tragic incident" and expressed his "deep and sincere condolences" the the victims' families.

Authorities in Kazakhstan are investigating the cause of an Azerbaijan Airlines plane crash in the country, which killed 38 people and injured 29 others on Christmas Day.The big picture: Flight J2-8243 was diverted while en route from Baku,

Experts say evidence in the Azerbaijan Airlines plane crash in Kazakhstan points to a possible midair explosion, not an encounter with a flock of birds.

Aviation experts say that Russian air defense fire was likely responsible for the Azerbaijani plane crash the day before that killed 38 people and left all 29 survivors injured.

U.S. officials say Russia could be behind a passenger plane crash in Kazakhstan that left at least 38 dead Wednesday, but Russia is denying any involvement.

After an Azerbaijan Airlines jet crashed in Kazakhstan, speculation mounted about why the plane went down and whether possible Russian air defense action may have played a role.