Latest news with #AzerbaijanAirlines
OC Media
3 hours ago
- Politics
- OC Media
Azerbaijani media claims it identified Russian officers responsible for deadly AZAL crash
Sign in or or Become a member to unlock the audio version of this article Join the voices Aliyev wants to silence. For over eight years, OC Media has worked with fearless journalists from Azerbaijan — some of whom now face decades behind bars — to bring you the stories the regime is afraid will get out. Help us fuel Aliyev's fears — become an OC Media member today Become a member The pro-government Azerbaijani media outlet Minval has alleged that it has identified three Russian military officers who they said are responsible for ordering and firing upon the Azerbaijan Airlines passenger jet that subsequently crash-landed in Kazakhstan in December, killing 38 people. Shortly following the incident, Azerbaijan blamed Russia for shooting the plane down and urged the Kremlin to take responsibility, punish those involved, and pay reparations to the survivors. While Russian President Vladimir Putin said he apologised for the 'tragic incident', he stopped short of admitting Russia's guilt in the matter. Earlier in July, President Ilham Aliyev said Azerbaijan was preparing to take Russia to international court over the plane crash. Minval reported on Tuesday that it had anonymously received a letter written by Russian Captain Dmitry Paladichuk — who reportedly fired the missile that struck the plane — at the command of Major General Aleksandr Tolopilo. The outlet said the allegations were corroborated by a third Russian official, Lt. Colonel Nikolai Orlansky, who said he had received the orders from Tolopilo and forwarded them to Paladichuk. The purported letter also described how Tolopilo gave 'deliberately false testimony', claiming that the air defence missiles had self-destructed and not hit the plane, while simultaneously blaming the incident on air traffic controllers. Minval claimed that the air defence unit that allegedly fired on the plane was in 'poor technical and organisational condition', which was why they mistakenly identified the jet as a military target — likely a Ukrainian drone. Previously, Russian officials said that Grozny — the original destination of the plane — was under attack by Ukrainian drones at the time the plane approached, which resulted in emergency defensive moves from air defence units in the area. Despite evidence reportedly shared in an internal Russian investigation that incriminated Tolopilo, Minval said he was not punished, but actually promoted. The reporting was quickly picked up by Ukraine's Stratcom Centre, which described the incident as 'another cover-up. Another war crime without consequences'. Advertisement New details emerge on the Russian military commander responsible for ordering the downing of Azerbaijan Airlines Flight J2‑8243 over Grozny. According to Azerbaijani outlet Minval Politika, the officer who gave the order to fire on the civilian AZAL Embraer 190 on December 25,… — SPRAVDI — Stratcom Centre (@StratcomCentre) July 22, 2025 Minval also said that it had located the personal phone numbers of the Russian officers involved and had contacted them, but had not received any responses. The outlet added that it was ready to share the evidence with Azerbaijani authorities investigating the incident. Earlier in July, Minval released what it said were leaked recordings of Paladichuk receiving orders to fire on the plane. At the time, the alleged commanding officer, Tolopilo, was not identified. Minval acknowledged it could not corroborate the authenticity of the material, but the Russian independent media outlet The Insider said it appeared to be authentic. The release of the audio recordings came amidst a sharp deterioration in relations between Azerbaijan and Russia, spurred on by a mass police raid in Russia's Yekaterinburg that resulted in the deaths of two ethnic Azerbaijanis and the arrest of around 50 others. Baku has said that brothers Ziyaddin and Huseyn Safarov were beaten to death with 'extreme cruelty' by Russian law enforcement officers, backing up its allegations with reports from a medical examiner. In contrast, Russia has claimed that the Safarov brothers died of natural causes. Tensions quickly escalated in the following days, with Azerbaijan issuing a formal complaint to Russia, cancelling all Russia-related cultural events, and arresting a number of Russian journalists accused of espionage. As of the end of July, the diplomatic crisis has appeared to cool down from its height earlier in the month, but is still ongoing.
Russia Today
2 days ago
- Politics
- Russia Today
Kremlin responds to possible lawsuit from Azerbaijan over deadly air crash
Azerbaijan is entitled to file a lawsuit against Russia over a deadly 2024 air crash, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Monday, following remarks by President Ilham Aliyev suggesting legal action is being considered. Aliyev said last week that his government had already notified Moscow of its intentions related to the crash of Azerbaijan Airlines flight 8243. The aircraft was damaged in Russian airspace during a Ukrainian drone raid and later made a hard landing in Kazakhstan. Thirty-eight of the 67 people on board were killed. He did not specify when a lawsuit might be filed, but noted that a full investigation would take time. Peskov echoed this, stating that Russia would 'await the official verdicts of all probes and inquiries.' A preliminary report pointed to 'external interference' as the cause but did not elaborate. This comes amid growing tensions between Moscow and Baku. Relations deteriorated after a Russian law enforcement raid in Ekaterinburg last month led to the deaths of two Azerbaijani nationals identified as suspected gang members. Azerbaijani officials rejected the findings of Russian investigators and accused the police of murder. The diplomatic fallout prompted a response from Baku. Azerbaijani police raided the Baku office of Russian news network Sputnik and detained two journalists and several other people. In addition, the government suspended all cultural events related to Russia. While acknowledging the current tensions, Peskov highlighted the traditionally cooperative ties between the two countries and expressed hope for deescalation. 'Respect for Russians in Azerbaijan is very important for us,' he said. 'Russia is home to a large Azerbaijani diaspora. Virtually all members of this diaspora are law-abiding citizens, who enjoy deserved respect here. Those who break the law are being lawfully held accountable.'
Straits Times
2 days ago
- Politics
- Straits Times
Kremlin acknowledges strain in Russia-Azerbaijan relations
FILE PHOTO: People followed by mourners carry the coffins of Azerbaijani brothers Huseyn and Ziyaddin Safarov, who died in Russian police custody, to a cemetery in Hacibedelli, Azerbaijan, July 1, 2025, in this still image from video. Reuters TV/via REUTERS/File Photo MOSCOW - Russia-Azerbaijan relations are currently going through a challenging phase, but Moscow remains hopeful for improvement as the two countries share common interests, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Monday. Tensions between Moscow and Baku have escalated in recent months following the detention of several ethnic Azerbaijanis in Russia and the death of two of them in police custody. On Saturday Ilham Aliyev, the president of Azerbaijan, said he wanted Russia to publicly acknowledge that it had accidentally shot down an Azerbaijani passenger plane in December last year, killing 38 people on board, and to punish those responsible. President Vladimir Putin apologised at the time to Aliyev for what the Kremlin called a "tragic incident" over Russia in which an Azerbaijan Airlines plane crashed after Russian air defences opened fire against Ukrainian drones. But Putin stopped short of saying Russia had shot down the aircraft. REUTERS
Ya Libnan
3 days ago
- Politics
- Ya Libnan
Azerbaijan wants Russia to admit publicly it accidentally shot down passenger plane killing 38
By Nailia Bagirova People mourn at the grave of flight attendant Hokuma Aliyeva during the funeral of the crew members of Azerbaijan Airlines Flight J2-8243 that crashed near the Kazakh city of Aktau, in Baku, Azerbaijan December 29, 2024. REUTERS/Aziz Karimov/File Photo KHANKENDI, Azerbaijan, July 19 (Reuters) – Ilham Aliyev, the president of Azerbaijan, on Saturday said he wanted Russia to publicly acknowledge that it had accidentally shot down an Azerbaijani passenger plane in December last year, killing 38 people on board, and to punish those responsible. President Vladimir Putin apologized at the time to Aliyev for what the Kremlin called a 'tragic incident' over Russia in which an Azerbaijan Airlines plane crashed after Russian air defenses opened fire against Ukrainian drones. But he stopped short of saying Russia had shot down the aircraft. Aliyev, speaking at a news conference in the city of Khankendi during an event called The Global Media Forum, made clear that he wanted much more from Moscow whom he accused of inaction following the downing of the airliner. 'We know exactly what happened — and we can prove it. Moreover, we are confident that Russian officials also know what happened,' Aliyev said. 'The real question is: why didn't they do what any responsible neighbor should do?' He said Azerbaijan expected the incident to be formally acknowledged, for those responsible to be held accountable, for compensation to be paid to victims' families and those injured, and for Moscow to reimburse the cost of the destroyed aircraft. 'These are standard expectations within the framework of international law and good-neighborly relations,' he said. Flight J2-8243, en route from Baku to the Chechen capital Grozny, crash-landed near Aktau in Kazakhstan after diverting from southern Russia, where Ukrainian drones were reported to be attacking several cities. Thirty-eight people were killed and 29 survived. Ties between Moscow and Baku have seriously deteriorated in recent months after Russian police detained a group of ethnic Azerbaijanis living in Russia and accused them of various historic crimes. Speaking at the same event, Aliyev said he wanted a transit corridor to be opened between Azerbaijan and its exclave of Nakhchivan that would run via Armenia. Aliyev said: 'We are talking about unimpeded state access from Azerbaijan to Azerbaijan. And we understand this literally — we are talking about a connection between parts of one country.' He said that, if and when it is set up, that Azerbaijani train passengers should not be exposed to physical danger from Armenian civilians whom he accused of throwing stones at such trains in the Soviet era and called for 'reliable and verifiable' security guarantees. 'This is an absolutely legal and fair demand,' Aliyev said. Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan said on July 16 that the U.S. had offered to manage the potential transport corridor. The potential corridor, which Baku is keen to secure, would run roughly 32 km (20 miles) through Armenia's southern Syunik province, linking the majority of Azerbaijan to Nakhchivan, an Azerbaijani exclave that borders Baku's ally Turkey. The transit link is one of several stumbling blocks to a peace deal between Azerbaijan and Armenia, neighbors in the South Caucasus region who have fought a series of wars since the late 1980s and remain arch rivals. The countries said in March they had finalized a draft peace deal, but the timeline for signing it remains uncertain. (REUTERS)
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First Post
3 days ago
- Politics
- First Post
Azerbaijan to sue Russia over plane downing, demands justice and accountability
The crash, which occurred on 25 December 2023 as the AZAL flight travelled from Baku to Grozny, killed all 38 people on board. Three days later, Aliyev publicly stated, 'we can say with complete clarity that the plane was shot down by Russia' read more Thirty-eight people died when the Azerbaijan Airlines plane crashed on 25 December in Kazakhstan. Western experts said the jet was probably shot at from Russia. Reuters File Azerbaijan is preparing to file lawsuits against Russia in international courts over the downing of Azerbaijan Airlines Flight 8243 near the Kazakh city of Aktau in December last year, President Ilham Aliyev said on Saturday, accusing Moscow of stalling the investigation and failing to respond meaningfully to Baku's demands. The crash, which occurred on 25 December 2023 as the AZAL flight travelled from Baku to Grozny, killed all 38 people on board. Three days later, Aliyev publicly stated, 'we can say with complete clarity that the plane was shot down by Russia (…) We are not saying that it was done intentionally, but it was done.' STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD Seven months on, no answers Aliyev said that despite the 'clear as day' circumstances of the incident, Azerbaijan has received no substantial reply from Russia. He noted that Baku's prosecutor general had contacted the head of Russia's Investigative Committee, only to be told that 'the investigation is ongoing.' Calling this position counterproductive, Aliyev said Azerbaijan had informed Russia of its plans to prepare a legal dossier for international proceedings. Drawing a comparison with the protracted probe into Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370, he said, 'We are ready to wait ten years, but justice must win.' 'The situation, which is currently in limbo, does not contribute to the development of bilateral relations between Russia and Azerbaijan,' Aliyev warned, according to a report by Euronews. Baku demands admission, prosecution, and compensation The Azerbaijani leader reiterated that both Baku and Moscow had 'a clear understanding' of what happened to Flight 8243, and questioned why Russia had not responded 'as any neighbour would do in a similar situation.' Aliyev laid out four demands: a guilty plea from Russia, prosecution of those responsible for firing the missile, compensation to the victims' families, and damages to be paid to the national carrier AZAL. On 4 February, a preliminary Azerbaijani government report confirmed that a Russian Pantsir-S air defence system shot down the aircraft. According to Azerbaijani officials speaking to Euronews shortly after the crash, a Russian surface-to-air missile was responsible for the incident.
