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

Russian President Vladimir Putin admitted on Saturday that Russia’s air defense systems were active when Azerbaijan Airlines flight J2-8243 attempted to land in Grozny, Chechnya on Wednesday.

On 25 December, 38 people died when an Azerbaijan Airlines flight, which had been due to land in Russia, crash-landed in Kazakhstan. The circumstances around the crash remain unclear, but limited evidence so far suggests it may have been hit by missiles fired by a Russian air-defence system as it tried to land in Chechnya.