Azerbaijan Airlines plane crash, likely caused by Russian air defense, shines light on a glaring issue the Kremlin has long swept under the rug.

The cause of the crash of Azerbaijan Airlines flight J2-8243 near the city of Aktau, Kazakhstan, is still unknown. The Kremlin has so far been tight-lipped, prompting questions over its messaging.

Azerbaijan Airlines Flight 8243 was scheduled to travel from Baku, the capital of Azerbaijan, to Grozny, a city in the Russian region of Chechnya, on Wednesday, but was diverted and ultimately crashed on the other side of the Caspian Sea, less than two miles from the airport in Aktau, Kazakhstan.

A passenger jet operated by Azerbaijan Airlines crashed near the city of Aktau in Kazakhstan on Wednesday, after diverting from an area of southern Russia where Moscow has repeatedly used air defence systems against Ukrainian attack drones.

The flight was en route from the Azerbaijani capital of Baku to Grozny, in Russia’s south, when it diverted and attempted an emergency landing in Kazakhstan.

In our news wrap Wednesday, at least 38 are dead after an Azerbaijan Airlines flight crashed in Kazakhstan, Ukraine says Russia launched an extensive missile and drone attack on the country’s energy and fuel infrastructure,

Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan and Russia all opened investigations into the cause of the crash of Azerbaijan Airlines Flight 8243.

Azerbaijan says the plane had multiple holes in its fuselage and that the occupants had sustained injuries ‘due to foreign particles penetrating the cabin mid-flight’

Russia’s President Vladimir Putin apologized to Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev over the “tragic” Azerbaijan Airlines plane crash that killed 38 people on board, but stopped short of admitting any responsibility for the incident.

The Kremlin tends to play down these attacks, and has a history of offering unconvincing explanations for massive explosions that sometimes result.

President Vladimir Putin on Saturday apologised to Azerbaijan's leader for what the Kremlin called a "tragic incident" over Russia in which an Azerbaijan Airlines plane crashed after Russian air defences were fired against Ukrainian drones.