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.

Russian President Vladimir Putin called the Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev to discuss the Azerbaijan Airlines plane crash that killed 38 people, the Kremlin reported on Dec. 28. The Kremlin press service released a briefing detailing a call between Putin and Aliyev,

Russia's head of aviation Dmitry Yadrov claimed a Ukrainian drone attack was underway in Grozny before the plane crashed.

Russia's federal air transport regulator states that the Azerbaijan Airlines Embraer 190 which crashed after diverting to Aktau had made two unsuccessful attempts to land at Grozny, the flight's original destination.

Azerbaijan Airlines has suspended flights to multiple Russian airports in the wake of a deadly plane crash, which it attributed to "physical and technical external interference."

Early indications suggest Russian anti-aircraft system may have downed a passenger jet in Kazakhstan, confusing it for a drone. Investigations are ongoing to determine the cause of the crash.

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.

Russia and Kazakhstan have tried to calm speculation about the cause of the Azerbaijan Airlines plane crash, following claims that it was shot down by Russian air defence systems. On Thursday, Moscow urged calm as its foreign minister said it would be wrong to draw conclusions before an investigation into the crash was complete.

Russian President Vladimir Putin apologised to Ilham Aliyev, the president of Azerbaijan, on Saturday for what the Kremlin said was a "tragic incident" in Russian airspace.

The head of Russia's civil aviation agency said Friday that Ukrainian drones were attacking the city of Grozny as an Azerbaijani Airlines plane was trying to land there, before it later crashed in Kazakhstan.

Vladimir Putin apologized Saturday after the US and Azerbaijan accused Russia of shooting down a passenger plane, killing 38 people.