The Kremlin Palace announced that Russian President Vladimir Putin and Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev had a phone conversation regarding the crash of the plane flying from Baku to Grozny. According to the palace, the plane was shot down by Russian air defense systems trying to repel an attack by Ukrainian drones on Grozny, Mozdok and Vladikavkaz, and Putin apologized because the incident occurred in Russian airspace. It was also stated that the Russian Investigative Committee took action under the article of the Criminal Code regarding violations of air transportation safety rules and that civilian and military experts are being interrogated.
It was claimed that the plane, in which 38 people died, was shot down by the Russian air defense system as it approached Grozny.