3rd military aircraft bring 86 Russians from Kazakhstan to Moscow: Ministry

The third military transport aircraft of the Russian Aerospace Forces delivered 86 Russian citizens from Almaty, Kazakhstan, to Moscow, the Russian Defense Ministry said in a statement.

"The third aircraft of the Russian Aerospace Forces military transport aviation delivered 86 Russian citizens from Almaty... to Moscow," the ministry said.

The Russian citizens brought to Moscow had arrived in Almaty as tourists on New Year's holidays. As a result of an unstable situation and the termination of Almaty international airport operation, the Russians remained in city hotels. While in hotels and with relatives, they asked the leadership of the Russian peacekeeping contingent for assistance in transporting them to Russia.

The military transport aircraft of the Russian Aerospace Forces have already brought 2,009 Russian and foreign citizens from Kazakhstan to Russia.

Mass protests in Kazakhstan began in the early days of 2022 - residents of the cities of Zhanaozen and Aktau in the west of the country opposed a twofold increase in prices for liquefied gas. Later, protests spread to other cities, including Almaty, the republic's largest city: looting began there, militants attacked state institutions and took weapons.

In response, the authorities declared a state of emergency across the country until January 19 and launched a counter-terrorism operation. According to the UN, about 1,000 people were injured during protests in Kazakhstan. According to the republic's Interior Ministry, 17 Kazakh security officials were killed, more than 1,300 were injured.

In the morning of January 5, Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev dismissed the government and led the country's Security Council. At the first meeting of the Security Council under his leadership, Tokayev described the situation in Kazakhstan as one undermining the integrity of the state and said he had asked the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) for assistance "in overcoming the terrorist threat."

The CSTO Collective Security Council decided to deploy the Collective Peacekeeping Forces to Kazakhstan to normalize the situation there. On January 7, Tokayev said terrorists, including those who arrived from abroad, continued to resist, and vowed to destroy those who did not lay down their arms. In addition, the president noted that all the demands of citizens, expressed in peaceful forms, were heard.