Azerbaijani media claims it identified Russian officers responsible for deadly AZAL crash

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’.

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.

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The very public falling out between Baku and Moscow was arguably the most significant break in bilateral relations since they were first established.

OC MediaJavid Agha