What is known about a plane crash in Kazakhstan that Azerbaijan says was caused by Russia?

Azerbaijan’s President Ilham Aliyev said on Sunday that the Azerbaijani airliner that crashed in Kazakhstan on Wednesday, killing 38 people, was shot down by Russia, albeit unintentionally.

Aliyev told Azerbaijani state television that the aircraft was hit by fire from the ground over Russia and rendered uncontrollable by electronic warfare. He accused Russia of trying to “hush up” the issue for several days.

Russian President Vladimir Putin on Saturday apologized to his Azerbaijani counterpart for what he called a “tragic incident”, but stopped short of acknowledging that Moscow was responsible.

Putin’s apology to President Ilham Aliyev came as allegations mounted that the plane had been shot down by Russian air defense systems attempting to fend off a Ukrainian drone strike near Grozny, the regional capital of the Russian republic of Chechnya, where the plane was heading.