Cargo transportation between Belarus and Azerbaijan

During a telephone conversation with Armenian President Armen Sarkissian on October 4, President of Belarus Alexander Lukashenko assured that his country had not supplied weapons to Azerbaijan for at least the last six months and since the start of hostilities.

However, open sources show that military cargo planes flew from Belarus to Azerbaijan.

It should be noted that in the context of Azerbaijan’s aggression against the Republics of Armenia and Artsakh, the CSTO Charter also hinders the supply of weapons to Azerbaijan from Belarus. Taking this into account, the Fact Investigation Platform has decided to refer to those flights and to the military relations between Belarus and Azerbaijan.

Cargo aircraft flights between Belarus and Azerbaijan

On September 30, IL-76 EW-412TH plane flew from Belarus to Baku. Before that, on September 26 and 27, the same plane flew from Turkish Tekridag Airport to Minsk. This airport is used for both military and non-military purposes.

A Minsk-Baku flight also took place on September 25. In all probability, these cargo planes transported military equipment to Azerbaijan. One of the flights that took place on October 5 was most likely in the Azerbaijan-Belarus direction. A part of the flight trajectory was left out of the radar coverage at flightradar24.com.

The flights were carried out by the planes of the Belarusian Ruby Star cargo transportation company. The Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project (OCCRP) Resource Center wrote a few years ago that Ruby Star’s “Ilyushins” were previously used to transport military cargo. One flight with this plane is enough to transport 16.000 Kalashnikov rifles.

You can read the analyses of the Fact Investigation Platform on the transfer military equipment with “Ilyushin” planes here, here and here.

CSTO regulations in a state of war

Belarus and Armenia are members of the Collective Security Treaty Organization. According to the treaty, in the event of aggression against any of member states, “the other member states shall provide the necessary assistance, including military assistance, with the means at their disposal in accordance with the procedure for exercising the right of collective defense in accordance with Article 51 of the UN Charter”.

From the very first day of hostilities, Azerbaijan already attacked the settlements in the territory of the Republic of Armenia. One civilian was killed as a result of the shelling of settlements in Vardenis region, and several people were wounded.

In the early morning of October 2, four enemy drones were downed in Gegharkunik and Kotayk Provinces of the Republic of Armenia.

In conclusion, it should be noted that in the recent hostilities, the Azerbaijani Armed Forces are using the “Polonez” multiple launch rocket systems produced by Belarus.

Ani Avetisyan