By Guy Faulconbridge, Andrew Osborn and Nailia BagirovaMOSCOW/BAKU (Reuters) -President Vladimir Putin on Saturday apologised to Azerbaijan's leader for what the Kremlin called a "tragic incident" over Russia in which an Azerbaijan Airlines plane crashed after Russian air defences were fired against Ukrainian drones.

Experts say evidence in the Azerbaijan Airlines plane crash in Kazakhstan points to a possible midair explosion, not an encounter with a flock of birds.

A manufacturing plant in Russia’s Tatarstan region has significantly scaled up its production of Iranian-designed drones, using a range of Chinese components, and recruiting a low-skilled workforce of Russian teenagers and African women,

Five months after their shock offensive into Russia, Ukrainian troops are bloodied by daily combat losses and demoralized by the rising risk of defeat in Kursk.

Azerbaijani intelligence has blamed Russia for the crash, with Euronews reporting on intelligence from anonymous Azerbaijani government sources that said the plane was not given permission to land in Russia despite requesting an emergency landing.

The State Department says an American schoolteacher arrested in Russia on drug charges more than four years ago has been designated by the U.S. government as wrongfully detained.

Moscow has warned Donald Trump against resuming the testing of nuclear weapons when he takes office, saying it would “not rule anything out” in response to US aggression.

Putin’s escalating campaign against immigrants has tapped a well of ethnic hatred.

Russia's head of aviation Dmitry Yadrov claimed a Ukrainian drone attack was underway in Grozny before the plane crashed.

Russia President Vladimir Putin don tok sorry to di president of neighbouring Azerbaijan ova one commercial airliner wey crash for Russian airspace, wey lead to di death of 38 pipo. But e no claim say Russia dey responsible for di plane crash.