Kazakhstan’s First Deputy Minister of Defense, Sultan Kamaletdinov, has confirmed that the unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) that crashed in the West Kazakhstan region earlier this year were launched from a Russian test site.
Since January, four unidentified drones have been found in the region. Speaking to journalists on the sidelines of a Senate session, Kamaletdinov shared the preliminary findings from an investigation conducted by the Ministry of Defense.
“More than 90% of the unmanned aerial vehicles discovered in the West Kazakhstan region were located within the boundaries of the 926th Main Flight Test Center of the Russian Federation,” he stated. “The airspace above this site is utilized by the center for UAV testing.”
When asked who had launched the drones, Kamaletdinov responded directly: “The Russian Federation, which is testing its UAVs.”
A String of Drone Incidents
The first reported drone was found on February 18 in the village of Ualy in the Bokeiordinsky district. A second was discovered near the village of Atameken in the Taskalinsky district on March 18. At the end of March, a third UAV was located near the border with Russia, followed shortly by the crash of a fourth drone in the Zhanibek district.
Russian Testing Grounds in Kazakhstan
Russia leases three military test sites in Kazakhstan, including those associated with the 929th State Flight Test Center. These facilities are located in the West Kazakhstan and Atyrau regions and are tied to Russia’s V.P. Chkalov State Flight Test Center (929 GLITS VVS), a key institution for military aviation and weapons testing.
The main base of the Chkalov Center is in Akhtubinsk, Astrakhan region, but its network of test ranges extends across Russia and Kazakhstan, spanning distances from 22 to 800 kilometers from Akhtubinsk.
While the use of Kazakh territory for foreign military testing has long been a sensitive topic, Kamaletdinov’s comments underscore the enduring presence of Russian military operations within Kazakhstan’s borders.
