Russian President Vladimir Putin on Saturday apologised to President Ilham Aliyev for what he called a “tragic incident” following the crash. View on euronews

The Kremlin said Russian air defenses were active when an Azerbaijan Airlines plane tried landing in Grozny, with the Russian president apologizing that the "tragic incident" happened in Russian airspace.

Sources told Reuters the plane had been hit by Russian fire. "It was as if it was drunk - not the same plane anymore," one passenger recalled.