Russian dictator Vladimir Putin apologized to Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev for the "tragic incident" involving the Azerbaijan Airlines plane. However, the dictator did not acknowledge the downing of the aircraft,

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.

Two U.S. military officials told NBC News that they had intelligence indicating that Russians may have misidentified the plane and shot it down.