The Power Within: The Kyiv Independent’s first-ever magazine. Be among the first to get it.

pre-order now
Skip to content
Edit post

Uzbekistan Airways reroute European flights to avoid Russia, Belarus as 'precaution'

by Boldizsar Gyori January 28, 2025 4:14 PM 2 min read
Uzbekistan Airways Boeing 757-200 airplane with registration UK75701 is landing at London Heathrow International Airport in England, U.K. in the evening at dusk. (Nicolas Economou/NurPhoto via Getty Images)
This audio is created with AI assistance

Uzbekistan Airways airliners have changed their routes when flying to Europe to avoid Russian and Belarusian airspace as a "precautionary measure," the Uzbek news outlet Repost reported on Jan. 28.

The news comes a month after an Azerbaijani airliner crashed in Kazakhstan after flying through the Russian airspace. Baku said that Russian air defenses mistakenly opened fire against the plane, bringing it down and killing 38 of the 67 people on board.

"These are simply precautionary measures and, to some extent, route optimization," the press service of Uzbekistan Airways was quoted as saying by Repost, claiming the change is not directly connected to the downing of the Azerbaijani plane.

Since Jan. 20, Uzbekistan Airways airliners fly over Azerbaijan and Turkey when heading west.

The Azerbaijani airliner was traveling from Baku to Grozny in Russia's Chechen Republic on Dec. 25, 2024, but was forced to change course and crashed near the Kazakh city of Aktau. Independent observers and Azerbaijani officials said that it was hit unintentionally by Russian air defense fire while attempting to land at Grozny’s airport.

The airport was allegedly under a Ukrainian drone attack, and Russia’s military failed to notify the airport in time to deny all civilian passenger planes entry into its airspace to avoid suffering fire by the activated anti-air missile system.

Russian authorities claimed the plane crashed due to hitting birds, but Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev directly accused Russia of downing the plane and demanded an admission of guilt and reparations, straining relations among otherwise close allies.

‘Absurd versions’ — Azerbaijan’s president accuses Russia, condemns Putin’s denial of involvement in plane crash
“The blame for this disaster lies with representatives of the Russian Federation,” Ilham Aliyev said on Jan. 6.

News Feed

8:10 PM

Ukraine receives 5,000 more Starlink terminals from Poland, minister says.

"Starlinks will help residents of the front-line territories to stay in touch: call relatives, call emergency services, read the news. Due to attacks and destruction of base stations in the de-occupied territories, regular communication is unavailable," Digital Transformation Minister Mykhailo Fedorov said.
1:54 PM

US committed to NATO membership, Rubio says.

"As we speak right now, the United States is as active in NATO as it has ever been," U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said at a press briefing alongside NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte.
MORE NEWS

Editors' Picks

Enter your email to subscribe
Please, enter correct email address
Subscribe
* indicates required
* indicates required
Subscribe
* indicates required
* indicates required
Subscribe
* indicates required
Subscribe
* indicates required
Subscribe
* indicates required

Subscribe

* indicates required
Subscribe
* indicates required
Subscribe
* indicates required
Explaining Ukraine with Kate Tsurkan
* indicates required
Successfuly subscribed
Thank you for signing up for this newsletter. We’ve sent you a confirmation email.