Four sources with knowledge of the preliminary findings of Azerbaijan's investigation told Reuters that Russian air defences mistakenly shot it down.

Russian leader Vladimir Putin called Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev on Saturday to offer condolences over the crash of an Azerbaijani passenger plane that occurred on Wednesday in western Kazakhstan,

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.