Russian President Vladimir Putin apologized for the deadly Azerbaijan Airlines Flight 8243 crash on Christmas but did not take responsibility for causing it as an investigation continues into the matter.

Russian President Vladimir Putin apologized to the President of Azerbaijan for the crash of the civilian airliner that killed 38 people, the Kremlin said Saturday.

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’