Russian President, Vladimir Putin, on Saturday, admitted that his country’s air defence was working when an Azerbaijani Airlines plane tried to land in Grozny before crashing, breaking the Kremlin’s silence as speculation mount that Russia may have accidentally shot the plane.

Russian President Vladimir Putin apologized to Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev over the December 25 Azerbaijan Airlines plane crash that claimed 38 lives, the Kremlin’s press service reported.

MOSCOW/BAKU - President Vladimir Putin on Saturday apologized to Azerbaijan's leader for what the Kremlin called a "tragic incident" over Russia in which an Azerbaijan Airlines plane crashed after Russian air defenses were fired against Ukrainian drones.