The Kremlin said Putin had "offered his apologies that the tragic incident had occurred in Russia's airspace."

Russian President Vladimir Putin admitted on Saturday that Russia’s air defense systems were active when Azerbaijan Airlines flight J2-8243 attempted to land in Grozny, Chechnya on Wednesday.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has apologized to Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev following the crash of an Azerbaijan Airlines plane in Kazakhstan that resulted in 38 fatalities, according to the Kremlin.

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

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

President Ilham Aliyev, an ally of president Vladimir Putin, has accused the Russian regime of trying to cover up a plane crash which killed 38 people on Christmas Day

The Russian president has apologised to his Azerbaijani counterpart for what he called a "tragic incident" - but stopped short of taking responsibility.

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.

Russian President Vladimir Putin said Saturday he apologized after the Azerbaijan Airlines flight crashed over Grozny, Chechnya, killing 38 people and injuring 29 others in southern Russia on Christmas Day.

Russia’s President Vladimir Putin apologized to Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev over the “tragic” Azerbaijan Airlines plane crash that killed 38 people on board, but stopped short of admitting any responsibility for the incident.

Ukrainian military intelligence has claimed that North Korean soldiers are struggling in the war against Ukraine and have turned to alcohol to cope

With a Russian apologist preparing to return to the White House, Keir Giles plots out how he believes Putin will use the new American president, Ukraine’s defenselessness, and the chill of life without a US security blanket, to proceed with his long-term goals of domination