July 22, 2025 – Baku / Moscow
A senior Russian air defense officer allegedly ordered the missile strike that brought down an Azerbaijan Airlines (AZAL) Embraer 190 passenger jet — but instead of facing consequences, he was promoted, according to an internal investigation cited by Minval Politika.
Colonel Nikolai Orlyansky, the on-duty operations officer at the command center of Russia’s 51st Air Defense Division (part of the 4th Guards Air and Air Defense Army, Southern Military District), stated during a preliminary inquiry that he received a direct order from Major General Aleksandr Vasilyevich Tolopilo to fire on an unidentified aerial target. That target later turned out to be the civilian AZAL flight.
An anonymous letter received by Minval Politika claims that the missile crew under Captain D.S. Paladichuk, who launched the strike, was under Tolopilo’s operational command in December 2024.
Despite his central role in the deadly incident, General Tolopilo has not been held criminally responsible, according to the report. Instead, he allegedly deflected blame onto the Rostov Air Traffic Control Center, providing false testimony that the missiles fired from the Pantsir-S1 system (unit No. 274) self-destructed mid-air and could not have damaged the aircraft. That claim was later disproven by an internal investigation carried out by Russia’s 505th Military Investigation Unit.
The report also notes that the Pantsir-S1 battery was not in proper technical or operational condition, which contributed to the failure to correctly identify the civilian aircraft before the fatal launch.
In a shocking development, Tolopilo was promoted following the incident. He is now reportedly serving as Deputy Commander of the 11th Guards Air and Air Defense Army in Russia’s Eastern Military District.
Minval Politika also obtained a December 16, 2024 field report from Captain Paladichuk addressed to the commander of the 80th Mobile Reserve SAM Regiment, confirming that his unit was under the operational control of General Tolopilo at the time of the strike.
The outlet reports that it possesses phone numbers for several individuals named in the report, but its journalists have so far been unable to reach them for comment or further clarification.
General Tolopilo was promoted to the rank of major general on February 17, 2022, by presidential decree issued by Russian President Vladimir Putin.
The downing of the AZAL flight remains one of the most controversial and politically sensitive aviation incidents involving a civilian aircraft in recent years.
