The European Union Aviation Safety Agency warned airlines to steer clear of several cities in Russia following the fatal crash of an Azerbaijan Airlines passenger jet that was likely shot down by Russian forces.

Rosaviatsia, Russia's Federal Agency for Air Transport, has tried to address the issue of maintaining passenger aircraft by allowing airlines to "cannibalize" its planes by removing serviceable spare parts from some airliners to install them on others.

Russia's Pulkovo airport in St Petersburg temporarily halted flight arrivals and departures from 7:45 a.m. (0445 GMT) on Saturday to ensure the safety of civilian aircraft, Russia's aviation watchdog Rosaviatsia said.

In the crash’s aftermath, Azerbaijan has unleashed rare and stinging criticism of Russia, with the country’s president saying Moscow’s response has caused “surprise, regret and rightful indignation.”

Russian authorities have declared a state of emergency in the Volga River port city of Engels as a huge fire, caused by a “massive” Ukrainian drone attack, rages unchecked. The strike was on the strategically important fuel storage tank farm for Engels Air Base,

Azerbaijan’s President Ilham Aliyev has accused Russia of accidentally shooting down an airliner on Christmas Day in a disaster that killed 38 people, and covering up the cause.

Four Russian airports briefly suspended traffic early Sunday for "safety" reasons, forcing at least eight planes to divert course, a spokesperson for Russia's civil aviation authority Rosaviatsia ...

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.

Matt Borie, chief intelligence officer for aviation security firm Osprey Flight Solutions, joins NewsNation's "Elizabeth Vargas Reports" to discuss early indications from U.S. officials that a Russian anti-aircraft system downed an Azerbaijan Airlines ...

Azerbaijan’s President Ilham Aliyev added that it was unintentional but criticised Moscow for trying to “hush up” the shooting for days.View on euronews

Russia's aviation chief said Friday that a Ukrainian drone attack was under way in the region of Chechnya at the time an Azerbaijani airliner attempted to land before diverting to Kazakhstan and crashing there earlier this week. Dmitry Yadrov, head of ...