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New Investigation Names Russian Soldiers Behind Azerbaijan Airlines Shootdown
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![Photo of Vlad Litnarovych]( "Photo of Vlad Litnarovych")
Azerbaijani investigative reporters have uncovered the identities of several Russian military officers involved in the December 2024 shootdown of a civilian airliner near Grozny, shedding new light on a tragedy that claimed 38 lives, according to Minval Politika report on July 24.
The newly identified personnel were on active combat duty at the time a Pantsir-S1 surface-to-air missile was launched at Azerbaijan Airlines flight 8432.
The aircraft, an Embraer ERJ-190, was en route from Baku to Grozny when it was struck over Russian territory.
The individuals identified as direct witnesses and participants in the missile launch sequence include:
Captain Dmitry Yevgenyevich Pudovkin, senior navigator of the combat command group at the 51st Air Defense Division;
Lieutenant Colonel Vladimir Viktorovich Yanovsky, duty officer at the Southern Military District HQ;
Colonel Gennady Nikolayevich Yeryomenko, duty officer at the command post of the 4th Guards Air Force and Air Defense Army.
Minval Politika previously reported that the launch order came from Major General Aleksandr Tolopilo, commander of the 51st Air Defense Division. Despite being at the center of the incident, Tolopilo not only escaped punishment but was later promoted.
This account was supported by Lieutenant Colonel Nikolai Orlyansky, who relayed the order to Captain Dmitry Paladichuk, commander of combat unit No. 274, which operated under Tolopilo’s direct command. The chain of command was confirmed in an official report dated December 16, 2024.
Following the incident, General Tolopilo reportedly attempted to shift blame to air traffic controllers and claimed the missile self-destructed. However, an internal investigation contradicted this version. Despite the deaths of dozens of civilians, the general remained unaccountable and advanced in his military career.
The Minval Politika editorial board confirmed it had obtained the personal data and contact information of all the named individuals and has submitted this information to Azerbaijani authorities leading the investigation.
The Azerbaijan Airlines ERJ-190 declared an emergency around 11:20 a.m. local time. Despite repeated requests by the flight crew for an emergency landing, all Russian airports refused to receive the damaged plane. Air traffic controllers instead instructed the jet to continue flying over the Caspian Sea toward Aktau, Kazakhstan.
Video recorded by passengers confirmed ongoing technical malfunctions during the flight over the Caspian.
According to Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev, the aircraft had initially been disoriented by Russian electronic warfare systems. Almost simultaneously, its tail section sustained critical damage from a ground-based missile strike.
Russian media outlets later published images of spent 57E6E missile boosters—used in Pantsir-S1 systems—near the crash site, confirming the system’s active deployment in the area.
The shootdown killed 38 people, including 23 Azerbaijani nationals, 7 Russians, and 6 Kazakhstanis.
Earlier, Azerbaijan was preparing to take legal action against Russia in international courts over the crash of an AZAL plane in Aktau.
