In the crash’s aftermath, Azerbaijan has unleashed rare and stinging criticism of Russia, with the country’s president saying Moscow’s response has caused “surprise, regret and rightful indignation.”

Russia won't say if it mistakenly downed an Azerbaijani plane on Christmas. But it acknowledges the crash came amid a Ukrainian drone attack in its republic of Chechnya.

Russia’s failure to let the plane land and its refusal to take responsibility for the crash are upsetting a key partner.

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz on Monday blamed the Russian war in Ukraine for the deadly Azerbaijan Airlines plane crash in Kazakhstan. "Russia's brutal war against Ukraine is affecting more and more innocent people - even outside Ukraine. This is shown by the air disaster in Aktau, which must be fully investigated," Scholz wrote on X.