Week in the Caucasus: review of main events of December 30, 2024-January 5, 2025

Tragedy of the Baku-Grozny flight, pollution in Anapa, drone attacks, persecution of pacifists and activists in Southern Russia, protests in Georgia, and official data on the natives of Southern Russia who perished in Ukraine, – see the review of these and other events in the Caucasus during the week of December 30, 2024 -January 5, 2025, prepared by the “Caucasian Knot”.

Tragedy of Baku-Grozny flight

On December 25, a plane of the “Azerbaijan Airlines” (AZAL) flying from Baku to Grozny crashed near Aktau in Kazakhstan. There were 62 passengers and five crew members on board. Of them, 29 people survived. Vladimir Putin apologized to Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliev for the fact that the incident occurred in the Russian airspace. Ilham Aliev demanded from the Russian side to admit guilt in the plane crash, punish those responsible, and pay compensation.

The plane’s black boxes have been sent to Brazil to the Aeronautical Accidents Investigation and Prevention Center (CENIPA). Such decision was made by the Ministry of Transport of Kazakhstan. Azerbaijan rejected the proposal to examine the plane’s black boxes by the Russian Interstate Aviation Committee, since, as Ilham Aliev noted, “the institution mainly consists of Russian officials.”

After the plane crash, several foreign airlines suspended their flights to Russia. Among them are the “Azerbaijan Airlines”, the Israeli “El Al”, and the Arab “Flydubai” airlines.

Pollution in Anapa

On December 15, two tankers crashed in the Kerch Strait because of a storm, resulting in an oil spill. Residents of Anapa posted on social networking services the photos and videos showing stains of spilled fuel oil. On December 18, it became known that about 50 kilometres of beaches from Anapa to Temryuk were contaminated with fuel oil.

Thousands of volunteers are engaged in cleaning beaches in the area of Anapa and rescuing birds after the fuel oil spill. On January 1, the authorities reported that the fuel oil leak from sunken tankers had been stopped. Fuel oil will continue to be washed up on the Krasnodar coast by storms for several more years, since some of the spilled oil remains in the water or has sunk to the sea bottom, ecologists report. Fuel oil of the M100 brand is heavier than water, and there are no proven technologies in the world for its removal from water, the Marine Rescue Service reports.

The geography of the spread of birds affected by fuel oil has increased, as the birds are being found on the coast 200-300 kilometres from Anapa. More than 2500 birds have been rescued in the city of Anapa and the Temryuk District, the operational headquarters reported. Volunteers have transferred 1622 birds to rehabilitation centres.

Dozens of birds stained with fuel oil are being found in Sochi, and all the activities to save the birds are organized by volunteers. Officials did not take responsibility for the fate of birds, including those listed in the Red Book (Red List of Threatened Species), an ecologist points out.

Drone attacks

The Russian air defence forces neutralized 37 unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) in several districts of the Rostov Region, and as a result of a drone attack, houses and cars in Taganrog and the Neklinovsky District were damaged, Acting Governor of the Rostov Region Yuri Slyusar reported on January 5. “Unfortunately, as a result of a night air attack in the Neklinovsky District, a seven-year-old child was injured. He got an injury while staying in a house damaged by falling UAV fragments,” the Acting Governor of the Rostov Region wrote.

On January 3, four drones were shot down in the Kamensky and Ust-Donetsky Districts of the Rostov Region. On January 1, at least four drones were also shot down in the Rostov Region. On December 30, in the city of Salsk in the Rostov Region, the Russian air defence forces shot down two drones.

On January 3, one drone was shot down in the Gorodischensky District, there were no casualties, the administration of the Volgograd Region reported on its Telegram channel.

On December 31, the Russian air defence forces shot down in the Astrakhan Region a drone launched from the direction Ukraine, the TASS reported with reference to the Russian Ministry of Defence (MoD). On the same day, two drones were destroyed in North Ossetia over the Prigorodny District, reported Sergey Menyailo, the leader of the region.

On the night of December 31, the Russian air defence forces destroyed in Kuban eleven unmanned aerial vehicles launched from the direction of Ukraine. Another UAV was shot down the day before.

Persecution of pacifists and activists in Southern Russia

The Ilovlinsky District Court found Mikhail Bulatov, a resident of the Ilovlinsky District, guilty of discrediting the Russian Armed Forces and fined him.

Protests in Georgia

Immediately after his inauguration, new President of Georgia Mikhail Kavelashvili, elected by the country’s parliament, has signed all the amendments to the Georgian laws that tighten the punishment for violations during protest actions and also simplify the process of dismissing and hiring persons for public service. Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze stated that daily protests in Tbilisi gather up to a thousand people. The Georgian Prime Minister has also noted that the people have the right to self-expression, and there is no point in interfering with their action.

In Tbilisi, protesters celebrated the New Year holiday at festive tables set up in front of the parliament building. On the other day, the 35th day of the protests against the suspension of Georgia’s European integration, the protesters gathered in the evening in front of the Georgian parliament and blocked traffic on Rustaveli Avenue.

An adviser to the chair of the Central Election Commission (CEC), a lawyer of the National Agency for Public Registry, the chief of the Centre for Juvenile Affairs, and the heads of departments of the Centre for Crime Prevention suggested that they were dismissed from their jobs because of their disagreement with the policy of the “Georgian Dream” Party. Nino Katsiashvili, an employee of the Central Election Commission (CEC) of Georgia, reported being dismissed for political reasons.

According to the information released by the Georgian Ministry of Internal Affairs, during the last two months of 2024, 91 citizens of different countries were obliged to leave Georgia. “Among the deported persons ... there are foreign citizens who participated in protest actions in Tbilisi in November-December and were subjected to administrative penalties by court’s decisions: a total of 25 people. Of them, ten foreigners have already left Georgia, the “Tbilisi Life” Telegram channel quotes the Georgian Ministry of Internal Affairs (MIA) as reporting.

Official data on natives of Southern Russia perished in Ukraine

By January 5, the authorities and the law enforcement bodies reported about at least 5601 residents of Southern Russia perished in Ukraine, including 2695 residents of the North-Caucasian Federal District (NCFD) and 2906 residents of the Southern Federal District (SFD).

In Dagestan, the authorities reported about 1179 local residents perished in Ukraine, in the Volgograd Region – 1061, in the Krasnodar Territory – 628, in the Rostov Region – 611, in the Stavropol Territory – 560, in the Astrakhan Region – 429, in North Ossetia – 333, in Chechnya – 221, in Kabardino-Balkaria – 212, in Kalmykia – 108, in Ingushetia – 104, in Karachay-Cherkessia – 86, and in Adygea – 69.