Vladimir Putin has apologized after an Azerbaijan Airlines plane destined for Russia crashed in Kazakhstan on Christmas Day.
Flight J2-8243, which was en route from Azerbaijan's capital Baku to the Russian city of Grozny, crashed near the Kazakh city of Aktau on Wednesday, killing at least 38 people.
Responding to the incident, Putin expressed his condolences to Azerbaijan's President Ilham Aliyev.
"Vladimir Putin apologized for the tragic incident that occurred in Russian airspace and once again expressed his deep and sincere condolences to the families of the victims and wished a speedy recovery to the injured," the Kremlin said in a statement.
It added that the plane had repeatedly tried to land at Grozny airport at a time when Russian air defense systems were responding to Ukrainian drone attacks.
This is a breaking story. More to follow.
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