In Astana, another statement has been made regarding the investigation into the crash of an AZAL flight that was shot down by Russian air defense near the city of Grozny. Kazakhstan’s Minister of Transport, Nurlan Sauranbayev, said that Astana has not yet received the results of examinations from two foreign laboratories. According to him, under an internal agreement, modular components were transferred to the Russian and Azerbaijani sides, after which Baku forwarded them to foreign experts. The final report on the tragedy will be published once all data from the foreign laboratories are received. In addition, Sauranbayev noted that a separate avionics module was sent for examination to its American developer.
Here, some clarification is necessary. Aircraft accident investigations, even when the cause seems obvious, are long and meticulous processes. Everything is examined in detail — from pilot training to the aircraft’s technical condition and the operation of all its systems. However, the AZAL flight that made a hard landing near Aktau on the morning of December 25, 2024, is a different case. Yes, the investigation is still ongoing, and its final conclusions have not yet been published. However, the cause of what happened no longer raises any doubts — the Azerbaijani civilian airliner was shot down by Russian air defense. First, its communications were jammed, then two surface-to-air missiles were launched, and only afterward were the pilots informed that a “Carpet” plan had been introduced on the ground to repel a drone attack. Moreover, the fact that the aircraft was shot down and that “external impact” caused the crash has already been documented, including by foreign experts.
Against this background, what the Kazakh minister has announced outlines a development of events that is potentially very dangerous for Russia. What exactly the foreign laboratories mentioned in the statement are examining has not yet been specified. However, many experts have recalled a previous statement by Kazakhstan’s Ministry of Transport marking the first anniversary of the tragedy, which confirmed that the AZAL aircraft had been shot down, but official Astana did not specify whose missiles struck the airliner. It is quite possible that the ownership of the missiles is one of the subjects under examination. But, to be completely frank, there could have been no air defense system in the vicinity of Grozny other than Russia’s.
Finally, there is another dimension to this issue. Both Azerbaijan and Kazakhstan are conducting their own investigations into the crash of the AZAL aircraft, but not Russia, over whose territory the airliner was shot down. Moreover, each step of the investigation is bringing new evidence of the responsibility of Russian air defense. This gives an entirely different meaning, first, to the fact that Moscow is not merely shielding those responsible from accountability — it has officially closed the criminal case into the air disaster.
The deaths of 39 passengers and crew members of the Azerbaijani aircraft, in the view of the Russian judicial system represented by the well-known Bastrykin, are apparently not sufficient grounds to hold air-defense officers accountable. And second — and this is undoubtedly the most important point — every new step in the investigation multiplies the facts that Azerbaijan may use to appeal to international judicial bodies. Yes, this is an extreme measure. But if Moscow demonstratively refuses to conduct an investigation, fails to fulfill its obligations, and shields those responsible for the crash of the Azerbaijani airliner from liability, then our country simply has no other choice.
Nurani
