Azerbaijan's plane crash sparks global repercussions against Russia

Ripples from Azerbaijan's plane crash in Aktau, Kazakhstan, are gradually growing into a tsunami, set to hit Russia hard. In the wake of the crash, several countries have suspended flights to Russia.

As is known, on December 25, 2024, an Azerbaijani plane en route from Baku to Grozny unexpectedly appeared in the opposite direction, in Aktau, and crashed, resulting in 40 casualties, including three crew members, both pilots, and a flight attendant.

Since the investigation into the reasons for the crash is ongoing, neither side has provided any clarification. At first, some media outlets reported that the plane had crashed due to a collision with a flock of birds, but footage shared from the scene in the media and on social media sparked speculations that disproved this claim. The footage shows that the tail of the plane was riddled with unknown materials, such as bullets or shrapnel.

Taking into account that Grozny was subjected to UAV attacks just before the crash, many contend that the plane was mistakenly hit by Russian air defense, like the Ukrainian plane shot down by Iran in 2020, and was later diverted to Aktau. As for the reason why the plane was not directed to nearer airports such as Makhachkala, it remains unclear, and it has caused anger in society.

However, the Russian side has neither confirmed nor refuted the allegations yet. On the other hand, on December 27, the Azerbaijani side rejected the financial aid having been offered by Ramzan Kadyrov, stating that neither Azerbaijan nor its citizens require any aid and that the country is fully capable of supporting its citizens and will continue to do so.

"What Azerbaijan demands is an acknowledgement of the incident, an apology, and appropriate compensation," the Azerbaijani side emphasized.

As the proverb goes, 'If it walks like a duck and talks like a duck, it's probably a duck.' Despite the silence from the Russian side on the issue, some countries have already taken appropriate measures to prevent the recurrence of such tragedies. On December 26, Israeli airline El Al announced that it was suspending operations on the Tel Aviv-Moscow route for a week due to what it defined as developments in Russian airspace. The company pointed out that they decided to take the step following the crash of an Azerbaijan Airlines plane en route from Baku to Grozny in Russia. It is worth noting that there are five weekly flights from Sunday to Thursday.

Following El Al, the Kazakh airline company suspended flights from Astana to Yekaterinburg. "The suspension of flights was carried out to ensure the safety of passengers and crew members based on the results of an ongoing risk assessment of flights to Russia. Resumption of flights to Yekaterinburg will be carried out based on the results of a repeated risk assessment," noted the company.

Of course, Azerbaijan suspended flights to several cities in Russia as well. On December 27, the Azerbaijani side announced that taking into account the preliminary results of the investigation into the crash of the Embraer 190 aircraft operating the Baku-Grozny flight J2-8243 of Azerbaijan Airlines, which was caused by physical and technical external interference, and the risks that may arise in flight safety, flights from Baku to several airports in Russia are suspended from December 28, 2024, in accordance with the decision of the Azerbaijan State Civil Aviation Agency.

As the silence from the Russian side continues, it seems likely that the number of countries suspending flights will increase, highlighting the growing international concern and potential ramifications of the crash.