After months of collaborating with an investigation led by Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan now also plans to seek redress in international courts over the Dec. 25, 2024, crash of an Azerbaijan Airlines plane that it says was hit by Russian ground fire before diverting to the western Kazakh city of Aktau.

Azerbaijan’s turn to international institutions reflects frustration with what it views as Russian intransigence in the investigation of what happened to Flight 8243, as well as the sensitivities for Kazakhstan as it leads a probe that could implicate Russia, its powerful neighbor and key trading partner. In a sense, Kazakhstan is caught in the middle, unable so far to satisfy Azerbaijan’s push for accountability for the crash and apparently unable to get full cooperation from Russia in the investigation.

Unlike Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan has refrained from criticism of Russia, even though six Kazakhstanis were among those who died in the plane crash, and Kazakh emergency crews went into potential danger after rushing to pull survivors from the wreckage. Kazakhstan’s low-key approach is possibly an outcome of its efforts to appear impartial during the inquiry as well as its policy of maintaining smooth diplomatic ties, despite any disagreements or tension with major regional players, including Russia and China.

Flush with military victories over Armenia and buoyed by close ties with allies such as Türkiye, Azerbaijan feels less constrained to nurture its traditional relationship with Moscow, its ruler during Soviet and Russian colonial times.

On Saturday, President Ilham Aliyev of Azerbaijan referred to years of international investigations and inquiries that found Russia-backed separatist rebels had shot down Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 over eastern Ukraine in 2014, and that Russia bore responsibility – a conclusion rejected by Moscow. Aliyev said Azerbaijan was prepared to wait just as long to clear up the case of the Azerbaijan Airlines crash, in which 38 of 67 people on board died.

“We will not forget,” Aliyev said, according to Minval Politika, an Azerbaijani news outlet. “We are currently preparing, and we have already informed the Russian side that we are preparing a dossier for submission to international courts on this matter. We understand that this may take time. In the case of the Malaysia Airlines Boeing, it took more than ten years. We are ready to wait ten years, but justice must prevail.”

The remarks by Azerbaijan’s leader at a media forum in the Azerbaijani city of Shusha show that ties between the two nations face protracted tension as long as the dispute persists, though there are other sources of friction between them, including detentions of each other’s citizens. Russian President Vladimir Putin has apologized for the crash without taking responsibility or providing details about what happened at a time when, according to Russia, the area around Grozny was under attack from Ukrainian drones.

Azerbaijan also wants those responsible to be punished, compensation to be paid to families of the victims, and Azerbaijan Airlines to be compensated for the loss of the Embraer 190 plane that crashed.

The aircraft had taken off from Baku, Azerbaijan’s capital, and its destination was Grozny in Russia-controlled Chechnya. However, the flight diverted and crashed near Aktau in western Kazakhstan after suffering fuselage damage that appeared consistent with shrapnel strikes. A preliminary report released by Kazakhstan in February did not clear up whether Russia had fired on the plane, saying only that metal objects had struck the plane, causing damage.

“Unfortunately, we didn’t get any answer from Russian officials about that, though seven months have passed,” Aliyev said, according to AZERTAC, Azerbaijan’s state news agency. “For us, everything is clear. We know what happened, and we can prove it, and we know that Russian officials know what happened, and it’s a question of why they do not just do what any neighbor would have done.”

Azerbaijan has not specified which international courts it plans to petition, but the United Nations could be one channel for its efforts to hold Russia to account.

Kazakhstan’s Minister of Health, Akmaral Alnazarova, has issued a public appeal urging an end to violence against medical personnel, following two brutal attacks on healthcare workers in Karaganda and Kostanay.

“Dear citizens of Kazakhstan, I am addressing you as a specialist who has worked as a nurse in a maternity hospital, as a doctor in the emergency room of a children’s hospital, as a duty officer, and as a resident; stop the violence against medical workers!” Alnazarova wrote on Instagram.

Two Violent Incidents in One Week

In Karaganda, a 42-year-old man accompanying his wife allegedly attacked a nurse at a private clinic, breaking down the door to the staff room and assaulting her. The nurse was hospitalized with a concussion and finger fractures. The assailant was later placed in a psychiatric clinic.

Just one day later, on July 17, a young urologist at the Kostanay Regional Hospital was struck in the head by a waiting patient after completing a complex operation. The blow left the doctor unconscious with a skull fracture and brain trauma. He remains in intensive care. The attacker, a 34-year-old man, was detained, and a criminal investigation has been launched.

“These are not just acts of aggression, they are direct blows to the entire healthcare system,” Alnazarova said. “This crime means dozens of patients not being admitted, dozens of postponed operations. The emergency room where the attack occurred is already a high-risk area.”

Alnazarova emphasized that medical professionals deserve respect and gratitude, not violence.

The recent attacks have ignited widespread concern across Kazakhstan’s medical community, with professional associations and hospital administrators calling for urgent reforms. The Kazakhstan Medical Workers’ Union issued a statement expressing solidarity with the victims and demanding swift prosecutions, while several regional hospitals have begun independently reviewing their on-site security protocols. Social media campaigns under hashtags like #ProtectOurDoctors and #SafetyInScrubs have gained traction, signaling growing public awareness that systemic change is needed to ensure healthcare workers can do their jobs without fear.

Government Plans Tighter Security Measures

The Ministry of Health, in coordination with the Ministry of Internal Affairs, is set to bolster security measures in medical facilities across the country. Plans include deploying round-the-clock security posts at emergency rooms, maternity wards, and children’s hospitals. Facilities will be equipped with surveillance cameras, panic buttons, and enhanced security staff.

In parallel, legislative amendments aimed at toughening penalties for violence against medical workers are expected to be submitted to Parliament in September. Alnazarova stated that such crimes should be treated not as domestic incidents but as threats to public safety.

Although the Criminal Code was amended in December 2023 to include penalties for harming medical staff, Alnazarova acknowledged that the recent incidents demonstrate these measures are insufficient.

As previously reported by The Times of Central Asia, a pilot program equipping ambulance workers with body cameras is already underway. The minister noted this initiative helps moderate the behavior of both patients and staff. Plans are also in place to reinstate police presence in hospitals and impose stricter regulations on private security companies servicing healthcare institutions.

A Regional Pattern: Kyrgyzstan’s Alarming Trend

The Times of Central Asia recently reported a similar surge in violence in neighboring Kyrgyzstan, where doctors at Bishkek’s National Hospital were physically assaulted by patients’ relatives. In one case, the assaulted doctor was detained instead of the attackers, sparking public outrage.

Kyrgyz Health Minister Erkin Checheibaev condemned the assaults, calling the situation “lawlessness against doctors.” A proposal in the Kyrgyz parliament would introduce criminal penalties mirroring Kazakhstan’s planned reforms.

No similar incidents have so far been recorded in Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, or Turkmenistan.

A Call for Cultural Change

Alnazarova concluded her appeal with a broader call for cultural change, stating that “We must instill respect for the work of medical professionals from childhood and foster a culture of gratitude.” She emphasized that violence against healthcare workers must be seen not as isolated outrage but as a systemic threat to national well-being.