Increasing analysis suggests Russian air defenses might have downed Azerbaijan Airlines flight J2-8243, which crashed in a ball of fire near Aktau,Kazakhstan on Wednesday morning, killing 38 of 67 passengers and crew.

Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev has launched a criminal probe to uncover the reasons behind the plane crash.

Azerbaijan Airlines Flight 8243 that crashed in Kazakhstan on December 25 was damaged by Russian surface-to-air missiles, Reuters reports citing officials with knowledge of the official investigation.

"No one claims that it was done on purpose," an Azerbaijan official told Reuters. They added their government "expects the Russian side to confess."

An Azerbaijan Airlines flight to the southern Russian town of Mineralnie Vody turned back to Baku on Friday after being told a chunk of airspace in southern Russia had been closed, Russia's TASS news agency reported.

Azerbaijan Airlines plane crashes in Kazakhstan, killing 38 – but 29 survive - The flight was bound for Russia’s Chechnya region but diverted and appeared to have control problems

Good morning. Russian air defenses reportedly damaged the Azerbaijan Airlines plane before it crashed. Israel strikes Houthi targets in Yemen. And want to live next to Jeff Bezos? A $200 million lot is up for sale.

Early indications suggest a Russian anti-aircraft system may have downed the passenger jet that crashed in Kazakhstan, a US official told CNN, as authorities recovered a second black box that they hope will shed light on the cause of the disaster that killed dozens of people.

Aviation experts say that Russian air defense fire was likely responsible for the Azerbaijani plane crash the day before that killed 38 people and left all 29 survivors injured.