The crash of an Azerbaijani airliner in Kazakhstan has killed 38 of 67 people on board. Azerbaijan Airlines’ Embraer 190 was en route from Azerbaijani capital Baku to the Russian city of Grozny in the North Caucasus on Wednesday when it was diverted for reasons that aren’t fully clear yet.

Azeri President Ilham Aliyev says Vladimir Putin’s apology isn’t enough, in a confrontation that shows Moscow’s waning influence over former Soviet territories.

On Christmas Day, a plane traveling from Baku, Azerbaijan, to Grozny, Russia, crashed in Kazakhstan, killing over half of its passengers. Theories abound regarding why the plane made an emergency landing near the Kazakhstani city of Aktau.

Mobile phone footage circulating online appeared to show the Azerbaijani Airlines plane making a steep descent before slamming into the ground in a fireball in western Kazakhstan.

Survivors of the Azerbaijan Airlines plane that crashed in Kazakhstan on Christmas Day say they heard at least one loud bang before the aircraft crashed.

Russian President Vladimir Putin on Saturday issued an apology for the Azerbaijan Airlines passenger jet crash in Kazakhstan that occurred earlier this week, but stopped short of claiming responsibility for it.

Dramatic video shows an Azerbaijan Airlines plane hitting the ground and bursting into flames near the city of Aktau in southwestern Kazakhstan. Dozens of passengers were killed, but video from the crash site also shows some of the survivors were able to walk away from the wreckage.

The Embraer 190 was traveling to Grozny, Russia, but crashed near Aktau, Kazakhstan, killing 38 people onboard. Investigators are focusing on Russian air defense as the likely cause.

Sources told Reuters the plane had been hit by Russian fire. "It was as if it was drunk - not the same plane anymore," one passenger recalled.