At least 38 people were feared dead when a passenger jet crashed in Kazakhstan after it was forced to divert from its intended destination in southern Russia—an area where Moscow’s air defenses have battled Ukrainian drones in recent weeks.

Tengrinews.kz - The Ministry for Emergency Situations of Kazakhstan published the names of its citizens who died in the plane crash near Aktau. Among the dead was a young dentist Salima Jutaeva.

An Azerbaijan Airlines flight from the Azerbaijani capital of Baku to Russia crashed, hospitalizing survivors while dozens are feared dead.

Russia launched a huge Christmas Day attack on Ukraine with cruise and ballistic missiles, as well as drones. The Russian attack wounded at least six people in the northeastern city of Kharkiv and killed one in the region of Dnipropetrovsk, the governors there said.

The Azerbaijan Airlines passenger jet was en route from the Azerbaijani capital Baku to Grozny in Russia. The plane went down near the city of Aktau in Kazakhstan after being diverted due to fog. There were 62 passengers and five crew members on board the plane, Kazakhstan's transport ministry said.

Tengrinews.kz - Deputy Prime Minister Kanat Bozumbayev provided details about the Kazakhstanis who died in the Azerbaijan Airlines passenger plane crash near Aktau on5.

An Azerbaijan Airlines plane crash on Christmas Day has prompted speculation the plane was shot down by Russia after it took a detour of hundreds of miles in the wrong direction and crash-landed with holes in the fuselage.

Azerbaijan began a national day of mourning Thursday after a passenger jet from the flag carrier crashed in western Kazakhstan on Christmas

Speculations with unconfirmed reports said that Russian air defense system probably mistook the plane for an Ukrainian drone.

Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev said at a news conference that it was too soon to speculate on the reasons behind the crash, pointing to bad weather as the reason the plane diverted from its original course. "This is a great tragedy that has become a tremendous sorrow for the Azerbaijani people," he said.

Tengrinews.kz - The Ministry of Emergency Situations of Kazakhstan has published the names of Kazakhstani citizens who died in the plane crash near Aktau.