Moscow has quietly closed the criminal case into the downing of an Azerbaijan Airlines (AZAL) civilian jet over Chechnya by Russian air defenses - without holding accountable the Russian general who allegedly gave the order to fire.
Azerbaijan never received the thorough investigation it sought from Moscow. The probe was shuttered out of public view, and the Russian Armed Forces general who reportedly ordered the strike on the civilian aircraft has faced no consequences, reports the Azerbaijani outlet Minval Politika.
Minval Politika reports that on September 2, 2025, a formal “special meeting” on the AZAL case was convened under the leadership of the commander-in-chief of the Russian Aerospace Forces. Among those present, it says, was Maj. Gen. Alexander Tolopilo, first deputy commander of the 11th Air and Air Defense Army - identified as the official who had allegedly authorized the strike on the civilian jet. The discussions focused not on accountability for the shootdown but on technical steps to improve coordination during “Kover” operations, a codename used for air-defense lockdowns.
According to the report, Tolopilo not only kept his position but was allowed to take part in the meeting and even delivered a briefing. He appears to have faced neither criminal nor disciplinary penalties over the downing of the civilian aircraft.
Minval Politika says all internal reviews and investigations involving Tolopilo have been halted. The key figure in the tragedy was effectively shielded before Russia’s top leadership publicly pledged to get to the bottom of what happened.
Notably, in October of last year in Dushanbe, Russian President Vladimir Putin assured Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev that the investigation would be completed and those responsible would be punished. By that point, however, all accusations against Tolopilo had already been dropped, Minval Politika reported.
The AZAL disaster occurred on December 25, 2024, killing 38 people. The plane was hit over Chechnya by a Russian air-defense system, then managed to reach Aktau, where it crashed due to extensive damage.
Aliyev publicly stated that Russia bears responsibility for the tragedy. It was only in October 2025 that Putin first acknowledged the aircraft had been damaged by Russian air defenses and promised compensation to victims’ families. Those promises have yet to be fulfilled.
