Russian authorities have decided to divert flights from Tel Aviv away from Dagestan following the storming of Makhachkala Airport last night. Moscow has pointed fingers at Ukraine, which has denied any involvement in the events.
Authorities in Dagestan reported the arrest of 60 individuals after crowds of pro-Palestinian supporters stormed Makhachkala Airport, the capital of the Muslim Caucasian Republic under Russia, amid reports of an Israeli passenger flight landing. Protesters breached the terminal, some waving Palestinian flags, and managed to bypass security barriers to reach the airport runway, fueled by rising anger across the Muslim world regarding the Israeli war on Gaza.
On Monday, the Russian Aviation Authority (Rosaviatsiya) announced that flights from Tel Aviv to Makhachkala and Mineralnye Vody would be temporarily redirected to other cities. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters that the events at Makhachkala Airport were “largely a result of external interference,” without providing further details. Peskov noted that "in light of the television footage showing the horrors occurring in Gaza, with people, children, and the elderly being killed, it is very easy for enemies to exploit the situation."
Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova stated that the storming of Makhachkala Airport was a result of a “provocation” orchestrated from outside Russia, with Ukraine playing a direct and significant role. Meanwhile, Ukrainian presidential adviser Mykhailo Podolyak asserted that Kyiv has no connection to these events, emphasizing that Moscow's accusations are baseless. Podolyak told Reuters, “Of course, Ukraine has nothing to do with the latest wave of widespread xenophobia in the Russian Federation.”
Additionally, the head of the Republic of Dagestan, Sergey Melikov, claimed on Monday morning that the unrest was organized from Ukraine. He told journalists in comments reported by the Russian news agency RIA Novosti that “the orchestrators of this movement are, of course, our enemies who organized these actions from the territory of Ukraine.”
