Russia has published a festive video of Santa Claus becoming a victim of Russian air defence against the backdrop of the tragic crash of an Azerbaijan Airlines passenger plane in Grozny, with growing evidence pointing to Russian air defence as the cause.

Russian President Vladimir Putin apologized to his Azerbaijani counterpart for what he called a "tragic incident" following the crash of an airliner.

Russian President Vladimir Putin apologized for the plane crash in Russian air space on Christmas Day that left 38 people dead in a statement that said Russia was targeting Ukrainian drones over the plane’s planned destination at the time, but stopped short of taking responsibility.

Putin “offered his apologies” for the crash in a phone call to his Azerbaijani counterpart, Ilham Aliyev, the Kremlin said in a statement. Putin initiated the phone call, according to the statement, and told Aliyev “that the tragic incident took place in Russian airspace.”

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