Putin APOLOGISES in phone call over plane ‘downed by Russia’ killing 38 passengers

has issued a public apology after an Ajerbaijan Airlines plane is , killing 38 people.

In comments reported by Moscow state media, the leader said sorry over the crash as he spoke with Azerbaijan’s president Ilham Aliyev.

But , 72, stopped short of taking responsibility for the horror crash, describing it as a “tragic incident” – and admitting that Russian air defences were active at the time the plane prepared to land in Grozny, Chechnya.

“During this time, Grozny, (the town of) Mozdok and Vladikavkaz were being attacked by Ukrainian combat drones and air defence was repelling these attacks,” Putin told Aliyev, according to the Kremlin.

Azerbaijani government sources claimed on Thursday that a missile struck the aircraft mid-flight.

It’s believed the Azerbaijan Airlines Flight 8243 may have been hit by a air defence missile while going to land in Grozny after taking off from Baku in Azerbaijan.

Several Azerbaijani TV channels, which are strictly controlled by the government, broadcasted interviews on Thursday with experts openly discussing the possibility that was responsible, News reports.

AnewZ channel said a preliminary investigation concluded that the jet had been struck by shrapnel from a surface-to-air missile launched from ‘s Pantsir-S defence system, as per the outlet.

The plane’s pilots managed to cross the Caspian Sea after the blast before coming down near Aktau International Airport in Kazakhstan.

Amazingly, 29 of the plane’s 67 passengers survived the horror crash.

In a statement reporting the phone call, the Kremlin said: “A detailed discussion was held regarding the crash of an Azerbaijan Airlines passenger plane on 25 December near the city of Aktau in Kazakhstan.

“ expressed his apologies for the fact that the tragic incident occurred in airspace.

“He once again extended his deepest and most sincere condolences to the families of the victims and wished a speedy recovery to those injured.

“During the conversation, it was noted that the Azerbaijani passenger aircraft, which was strictly following its scheduled route, had made several attempts to land at the airport in Grozny.

“At the time, Grozny, Mozdok, and Vladikavkaz were under attack by combat drones, and air defence systems were repelling these assaults.”

A probe is underway, the Kremlin said, with The Investigative Committee of opening “a criminal case under Article 263 of the Criminal Code (violation of traffic safety rules and the operation of air transport)”.

“Initial investigative actions are underway, and both civilian and military specialists are being questioned”, the statement added.

“At present, two employees from the General Prosecutor’s Office of Azerbaijan are in Grozny, working jointly with representatives of the General Prosecutor’s Office and the Investigative Committee of the Russian Federation.

“Specialised services from , Azerbaijan, and Kazakhstan are closely cooperating at the crash site near Aktau.”