After plane crash

Russia closes airspace in the south of the country

The wreckage of the Embraer 190 of Azerbaijan Airlines near Aktau airport, Kazakhstan(Bild: ASSOCIATED PRESS)

Following the devastating crash of a passenger plane in Kazakhstan, in which 38 people did not survive, Russia has closed the airspace in the south of the country.

Azerbaijani reports are making the rounds that the plane crashed due to Russian air defense fire. The Kremlin is remaining silent. The Russian government merely stated that it was important to wait for the investigation into the plane crash in order to understand what had happened, the Russian news agency TASS reported.

On Friday, an Azerbaijan Airlines plane had now returned to Baku on its way to the southern Russian city of Mineralnye Vody, TASS further reported. The government in Moscow initially did not comment on Azerbaijani reports that the plane had crashed as a result of Russian air defense fire.

The wreckage of the Embraer 190 of Azerbaijan Airlines near the airport of Aktau, Kazakhstan(Bild: ASSOCIATED PRESS)

Azerbaijan Airlines suspended flights to seven Russian cities
The Russian news agency Interfax reported that Azerbaijan Airlines had suspended flights to seven Russian cities. However, the airline continues to fly to six major Russian cities, including Moscow and St. Petersburg.

Baku leaks allegations
In an initial reaction, the Kremlin warned against premature speculation. On Thursday afternoon, however, the Azerbaijani leadership massively spread the assumption that the plane had been hit by a Russian Panzir-S anti-aircraft missile. Citing unnamed government representatives in Baku, local and international media reported that the plane had been damaged on its approach to Grozny.

Background

• On Wednesday, an Azerbaijani Embraer 190 passenger plane crashed near the Kazakh city of Aktau.
• 38 people died, 29 others survived, some with serious injuries.
• The plane was scheduled to land in Grozny in the Russian republic of Chechnya.
• According to reports, the Russian military had to fend off an attack by Ukrainian drones at the time.
• According to Azerbaijani insiders and Western experts, the crash was caused by Russian air defense fire.

The fact that the plane was allegedly denied an emergency landing at nearby Russian airports due to bad weather caused particular outrage in Azerbaijan. The pilots had to maneuver the almost uncontrollable plane over the Caspian Sea to Aktau. Altitude and speed fluctuated considerably. During an attempt to land in Aktau, the plane crashed.

Flowers and portraits in memory of the victims of the crash(Bild: ASSOCIATED PRESS)

Memories of the downing of a Malaysian Boeing in 2014
If the version of a fatal miss by Russian air defense is confirmed, it would be the second case after 2014, when the Ukrainian army was fighting a covert Russian military operation in the east of the country, disguised as an uprising by separatists. On July 17, 2014, a Russian Buk air defence system accidentally shot down a Malaysia Airlines Boeing over eastern Ukraine on a flight from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur. 289 people lost their lives.

To this day, Moscow denies any responsibility for the tragedy and speaks of a Western insinuation. Journalistic research and investigations by the Dutch judiciary have provided clear evidence of the Buk system's route from Russia to the Ukrainian conflict zone and back. Three Russians responsible were sentenced to life imprisonment in absentia by a court in the Netherlands in 2022.

How will the countries concerned behave towards Moscow
However, the situation is different this time, partly because the survivors are potential witnesses. The Netherlands, which was worst affected in 2014, was considered a hostile Western country towards Russia. Azerbaijan and Kazakhstan are countries that Moscow counts among its allies.

Like Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan, a former Soviet republic that has become rich through energy exports, is largely independent of Russia and can also make a strong stand against Moscow. Central Asian Kazakhstan, which has a long border with Russia and a large Russian minority, must act more cautiously. The Kazakh authorities investigating the crash have so far been reluctant to comment on the cause.