In the crash’s aftermath, Azerbaijan has unleashed rare and stinging criticism of Russia, with the country’s president saying Moscow’s response has caused “surprise, regret and rightful indignation.”

President Aliyev has blamed Russia for the airliner’s downing, which killed 38 people. Azerbaijan’s President Ilham Aliyev on Monday once again blamed Russian officials for the plane crash that killed 38 people on Christmas Day and called for them to be punished.

Russian President Vladimir Putin apologized for the plane crash in Russian air space on Christmas Day that left 38 people dead in a statement that said Russia was targeting Ukrainian drones over the plane’s planned destination at the time, but stopped short of taking responsibility.

Four sources with knowledge of the preliminary findings of Azerbaijan's investigation told Reuters that Russian air defences mistakenly shot it down.

Russian President Vladimir Putin apologized for the deadly Azerbaijan Airlines Flight 8243 crash on Christmas but did not take responsibility for causing it as an investigation continues into the matter.

Two U.S. military officials told NBC News that they had intelligence indicating that Russians may have misidentified the plane and shot it down.

Russian leader Vladimir Putin has called Azerbaijan's President Ilham Aliyev for the second time in two days to continue discussions about the Azerbaijan Airlines plane crash. Source: Kremlin-aligned Russian news agency RIA Novosti,

"The blame for this disaster lies with representatives of the Russian Federation," Ilham Aliyev said on Jan. 6.

Azerbaijan's president said on Monday that Russia was "guilty" over the downing of an airline last month that Baku says was shot by Russian air defenses. An Azerbaijan Airlines Embraer 190 jet crash-landed in Kazakhstan on Dec.