Early indications’ suggest Russia shot down an Azerbaijan Airlines flight that crashed in Kazakhstan on Christmas Day, the White House said on Friday.

Experts say evidence in the Azerbaijan Airlines plane crash in Kazakhstan points to a possible midair explosion, not an encounter with a flock of birds.

Azerbaijani intelligence has blamed Russia for the crash, with Euronews reporting on intelligence from anonymous Azerbaijani government sources that said the plane was not given permission to land in Russia despite requesting an emergency landing.

Officials in Russia and Kazakhstan are urging people to wait for an investigation into the deadly Azerbaijan Airlines plane crash before assigning blame.

The White House said Friday there were "early indications" that Russian air defenses downed an Azerbaijan Airlines flight in Kazakhstan.

The people on board were nationals from Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Russia. Azerbaijan's Foreign Ministry said the aircraft was directed to Aktau "due to an emergency landing ...

Azerbaijan is observing a nationwide day of mourning for the victims of the air crash that killed 38 people and left all 29 survivors injured as speculation mounted about a possible cause of the crash

The White House said preliminary evidence suggests that Russia ‘s defense systems shot down a commercial flight originating in Azerbaijan .

Four sources with knowledge of the preliminary findings of Azerbaijan's investigation told Reuters that Russian air defences mistakenly shot it down.

Russian President Vladimir Putin said Saturday that Russia’s air defense systems were active when an Azerbaijan Airlines flight attempted to land in Grozny, Chechnya on Wednesday.

Putin apologises over Azerbaijan Airlines plane crash – but does not admit fault - Azerbaijan says the plane had multiple holes in its fuselage and that the occupants had sustained injuries ‘due to fo