Russia has published a festive video of Santa Claus becoming a victim of Russian air defence against the backdrop of the tragic crash of an Azerbaijan Airlines passenger plane in Grozny, with growing evidence pointing to Russian air defence as the cause.

Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev blasted Russia for putting forward “absurd” theories initially and said Moscow must compensate victims’ families.

Russian President Vladimir Putin apologized for the plane crash in Russian air space on Christmas Day that left 38 people dead in a statement that said Russia was targeting Ukrainian drones over the plane’s planned destination at the time, but stopped short of taking responsibility.

Azerbaijan's President Ilham Aliyev is pressuring Vladimir Putin to acknowledge Russia's responsibility for the Azerbaijan Airlines (AZAL) plane crash. He accuses Russian representatives of attempting to "cover up the incident,

The crash of the Azerbaijan Airlines plane due to Russian air defense systems demonstrates that Russia's war against Ukraine is increasingly affecting innocent people, according to German Chancellor Olaf Scholz on Twitter (X).

Russia's federal air transport regulator states that the Azerbaijan Airlines Embraer 190 which crashed after diverting to Aktau had made two unsuccessful attempts to land at Grozny, the flight's original destination.

Azerbaijan Airlines has suspended flights to multiple Russian airports in the wake of a deadly plane crash, which it attributed to "physical and technical external interference."

Russia has started cooperating with Azerbaijan in investigating the crash of an Embraer 190 aircraft. Officials from four countries will conduct a comprehensive investigation into the cause of the crash,

Azerbaijani President said Sunday that the plane that crashed in Kazakhstan on Wednesday "was damaged from outside on Russian territory."

The leader of Azerbaijan has called on Russian President Vladimir Putin to apologize and admit guilt for the fate of Azerbaijan Airlines Flight 8243, which crashed in Kazakhstan on Christmas Day after a failed attempt to fly from Baku to the Russian city of Grozny.

The tragic aviation accidents that happened worldwide this year have sparked discussions on improving aviation safety.