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Azerbaijan’s Foreign Ministry said on Friday it had summoned the Russian ambassador and lodged a “strong protest” after the country’s embassy in Kiev was damaged in a Russian airstrike.
According to Azerbaijan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, a Russian missile fell on the embassy grounds, causing an explosion and damaging embassy facilities and business vehicles.
No personnel casualties were reported.
“During the meeting, it was emphasized that such attacks on our country’s overseas diplomatic missions are unacceptable, and the Russian side was requested to conduct a proper investigation into this matter and provide a detailed explanation,” Azerbaijan’s Foreign Ministry said in a statement.
“It is also stated that as a result of Russia’s airstrike with the Kinzhal missile on January 2, 2024, a crater with a diameter of approximately 3 meters was formed approximately 35 steps from the embassy administration building, and an unexploded ordnance that failed to detonate was discovered at a depth of 8 meters above the ground.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy and Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev discussed the attack in a phone call on Friday, with Aliyev saying he “condemned this attack.”
During the meeting, Zelenskiy briefed Aliyev on the broader impact of the attack, including civilian casualties and the strain on emergency responders.
According to Baku-based AnewZ news agency, Aliyev stressed the importance of protecting diplomatic missions during conflicts and expressed concern about the increased risks posed by the deployment of high-intensity missiles in populated areas.
He also reaffirmed Azerbaijan’s humanitarian assistance to Ukraine and signaled its intention to maintain cooperation with Baku’s president amid heightened instability.
Baku also highlighted on Friday repeated incidents of Russian attacks on Ukraine in which government buildings and business assets were damaged.
In March 2022, the Honorary Consulate of Azerbaijan in Kharkiv was damaged, and in August of this year, the Kiev Embassy was also damaged.
A Russian attack also hit Azerbaijan’s Sokal company oil depot in August.
“Moscow is doing this deliberately and is acting against the interests of Azerbaijan,” Ukraine’s Foreign Ministry said in August.
“This reiterates the importance of new levels of cooperation between Ukraine and Azerbaijan and the need for an appropriate diplomatic and legal response to such attacks.”
The damage to the embassy signals a possible rekindling of tensions between Azerbaijan and Russia, which previously had warm relations.
Russian President Vladimir Putin admitted last month that Russian air defense forces fired a missile at an Azerbaijani airliner, causing it to crash in Kazakhstan in December, killing 38 of the 67 people on board.
Aliyev announced in July that his country was preparing to file a lawsuit against Russia in an international court over the crash of Azerbaijan Airlines Flight 8243 near Aktau.
Aliyev said he was “disturbed and surprised” by the events presented by the Russian authorities and accused Russia of trying to “sweep” the issue for several days.