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 to Azerbaijan's leader for what he called a “tragic incident” following the crash of an airliner in Kazakhstan that killed 38 people. Putin stopped short of acknowledging that Moscow was responsible.

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