In Moscow, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said: "It would be wrong to put forward any ... But some commentators in Azerbaijani media say that Azerbaijan expects Russia to admit shooting down the plane. Several TV channels, which are under strict control ...

Russia’s aviation chief says that a Ukrainian drone attack was underway in the Russian region that an airliner was destined for before it diverted and crashed earlier this week.

The cause of the crash of Azerbaijan Airlines flight J2-8243 near the city of Aktau, Kazakhstan, is still unknown. The Kremlin has so far been tight-lipped, prompting questions over its messaging.

Slovakia’s prime minister, Robert Fico arrived in Russia on a “working visit” and met with Putin one-on-one on Sunday evening.

A passenger jet that crashed in Kazakhstan on Christmas Day, killing 38 people, was likely shot down by a Russian anti-aircraft missile, according to multiple reports.

A senior Russian general was killed in a bomb blast in a residential neighborhood in Moscow, Russian media reported early Tuesday.

RUSSIA downed a passenger plane over Kazakhstan on Christmas Day killing 38 in a fireball crash, according to government sources. An initial investigation by the Azerbaijani government reportedly

Mobile phone footage circulating online appeared to show the aircraft making a steep descent before smashing into the ground in a fireball. Some of the videos posted on social media showed survivors dragging fellow passengers away from the wreckage.

The Azerbaijan Airlines plane was flying from Baku to Grozny on Christmas Day when it crashed in Kazakhstan, killing 38 people.

White House national security spokesman John Kirby told reporters that the US “have seen some early indications" that the plane was "brought down by Russian air defense systems."

Thirty-eight passengers and crew died when Azerbaijan Airlines flight J2-8243 from the airline’s hub at Baku to Grozny, the capital of Russia ‘s Chechnya, crashed short of Aktau airport in Kazakhstan; 29 survived.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has held talks in the Kremlin with Slovakia’s prime minister, Robert Fico, in a rare visit to Moscow by an EU leader since Russia’s all-out invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.