Russian President Vladimir Putin has apologised to Azerbaijan's President Ilham Aliyev for what he termed a "tragic incident", three days after an Azerbaijan Airlines plane was forced to resort to a crash-landing in Kazakhstan that engulfed most of the aircraft in a fireball and killed 38 people.

The Kremlin acknowledged in a statement on December 28 that Russian air defence systems were active near the plane's intended destination, Grozny, on December 25, responding to a Ukrainian drone strike. Still, it stopped short of confirming whether these systems were involved in the plight of the plane.

Flight J2-8243, carrying 67 people, was en route from Baku to Grozny in Russia’s Chechnya when it diverted to Kazakhstan's Aktau airport, where it crashed during an attempted emergency landing. Twenty-nine people survived the incident, largely because the back of the plane broke off during the crash-landing and thus escaped the fireball.

Azerbaijan Airlines said on December 27 that preliminary investigations indicated "external physical and technical interference" with the aircraft. Passenger accounts bolstered this assessment, including reports of at least one loud bang as the plane approached Grozny.

A US official and an Azerbaijani minister have separately suggested that an external weapon was responsible for the crash, though neither has provided specific evidence for these claims.

The incident has raised tensions between Moscow and Baku at a time when Russia faces increasing scrutiny over its air defence activities amid the ongoing conflict with Ukraine.

Aviation experts note that the aircraft's flight path took it near an area where Russian anti-aircraft systems are regularly active due to Ukrainian drone operations targeting southern Russia.

The investigation into the crash continues, with international aviation experts examining wreckage and flight data at the Aktau site.

An increasing number of airlines that were still flying to Russia ahead of the disaster are, meanwhile, announcing the withdrawal of Russia schedules. TASS reported on December 28 that Turkmen flagship carrier Turkmenistan Airlines has suspended regular flights between Ashgabat and Moscow for a month from December 30.