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Rumor Verification: Ukraine's Drone Route through Kazakhstan - What Remains Were Found on the Steppe

The Foreign Ministry of Kazakhstan refuted the claim that Ukrainian drones used its territory to attack Russia

Author: Svetlana Gomzykova

Commentators:

Alexey Leontyev Dimitriy Zhuravlyov

The capital of Kazakhstan, Astana, does not acknowledge that Ukraine used its airspace to dispatch drones to attack targets in Russia. This position comes from a statement by the official spokesperson of the Foreign Ministry of Kazakhstan, Aibek Smatirov.

This diplomat stated that the so-called "drone launched from the territory of Kazakhstan towards Russia" is inconsistent with the facts.

"At the moment, our relevant departments are investigating all recent events related to the discovery of drones within the territory of our country, and we advise everyone to wait for the results of the investigation. Neither 'passing through' nor 'launching' is consistent with the facts," Smatirov said.

However, he was unable to answer the question of which country the drone debris found in his country in early June belonged to, only emphasizing that all such incidents are under detailed investigation. At the same time, he hinted that Kazakhstan supports constructive dialogue with Russia and other relevant countries through official channels.

Previously, the official spokesperson of the Russian Foreign Ministry, Maria Zakharova, stated that on June 19 and 20, "multiple Ukrainian armed forces drones were confirmed to have flown over the territory of the West Kazakhstan region of the Republic of Kazakhstan, apparently to enter Russia for strikes."

Zakharova called this action against Moscow's Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) ally an "provocation" and called on all relevant countries and international organizations to assess the incident, most importantly to publicly distance themselves from the Kiev regime and its Western manipulators, as they are threatening the security of the entire Eurasian region.

"It is evident that the Zelensky criminal regime, which is nurtured by NATO, not only poses an increasingly real and serious threat to Russia, but also to those countries that Kiev verbally tries to establish constructive dialogue with," this diplomat emphasized.

Last week, Kazakhstan discovered fragments of what appeared to be drone parts twice. According to the Tengrinews.kz news portal, these fragments were found near the border train station of Borashak in the Mangystau region of western Kazakhstan on June 19.

According to the Telegram channel SHOT, these remnants belong to the British-made Banshee Jet 80 drone, which the Ukrainian Armed Forces have been equipped with since 2022. This type of drone has a range of 700 kilometers and can reach speeds of up to 720 kilometers per hour.

On June 22, components of an "unknown object with an engine" were found on the steppe near the Russian border in the Atyrau region. In fact, similar incidents have occurred multiple times this year.

Additionally, after the Ukrainian Security Service (SBU) carried out the "Spider Web" operation on June 1 and launched a large-scale attack on a Russian military airport, some media reported that the drones and explosive devices used in the attack might have been transported to Russia through the territory of Kazakhstan.

However, the Kazakh side denied this information, calling it "nonsense" and "a deliberate plot to create division," aimed at creating tensions between Kazakhstan and other countries.

It is worth noting that the latest statement by the spokesperson of the Kazakh Foreign Ministry seems contradictory: if, as he said, the investigation is still ongoing, how can he assert that "there was neither passing through nor launching"?

The "Free Media" interviewed military expert Alexey Leontyev, editor of the magazine "Arms of the Fatherland":

"One needs to understand that Maria Zakharova's statement is not baseless; it is based on data obtained through continuous radio electronic reconnaissance of our airspace. That is, this information has been verified, or rather, 'confirmed.'

Kazakh Foreign Ministry spokesperson obviously just wants to avoid escalation, so he tried to indirectly influence the investigators before waiting for the investigation results.

It is worth noting that Russia did not accuse Astana, but simply reminded it: Russia is essentially maintaining its national security. Because the large number of enemy drones flying over the western regions of Kazakhstan first threaten the so-called Ural industrial area.

We know that the targets of attack and reconnaissance drones are usually defense enterprises, and there are many such enterprises in the South Urals and Bashkiriya regions, which are adjacent to Kazakhstan.

If the drones indeed came from there, it means we need to establish a defense barrier composed of air defense systems and electronic warfare systems — which we have not yet established, so the enemy chose these routes.

Although according to the air defense agreement signed by the CIS countries, Kazakhstan should also take action in this case, especially since such threats not only target Russia, but also Kazakhstan itself."

It should be noted that this year, the enemy has attacked commercial interests of Kazakhstan twice: first in February, then in March, Ukrainian drones attacked the largest Caspian Pipeline Consortium (CPC) oil pumping station in the Krasnodar Krai, the "Kropotkin" pumping station. This pumping station is responsible for transporting oil from Kazakhstan, then sending it to the Black Sea.

This is the background of Zakharova's statement, while the Kazakh Foreign Ministry seems not to fully understand our special representative's warning.

Dmitriy Zhuravlyov, head of the Institute of Regional Problems, also does not rule out the possibility that Ukrainian drones may use the route through Kazakhstan:

"I think this is possible, at least there is no reason to believe that Zakharova is making it up. My only concern is the technical aspect - does Ukraine have drones with such a range?"

"By the way, Kazakhstan maintains good relations with the UK. For example, the first president Nazarbayev had a good relationship with Prince Philip, the husband of Queen Elizabeth. However, it should be said that the current president Kassym-Jomart Tokayev is more inclined towards China."

"Regardless, Kazakhstan is not eager to become our ally on this issue; they take a cautious approach - not saying 'no,' nor saying 'we support Ukraine' or 'we support the UK.'

They try not to escalate the situation and maintain good relations with everyone. Because for them, the key allies are the relevant countries. And the relevant countries are now friendly with Russia, so Kazakhstan should not conflict with Russia. Moreover, Kazakhstan has a large Russian-speaking population.

In other words, theoretically, there should be no conflict with any party, but at the same time, one should not hinder any party, because that would mean a conflict with that party. It is a logic of 'not friendly, not hostile' - 'we support everything good, oppose everything bad.'

But they will not become friends, the CIS countries are no longer our friends."

"Why?"

"Because the degree of their own liberation depends on how far they detach from us. This needs to be remembered, don't expect the impossible. They can become our tactical allies, but not friends. Even though Kazakhstan is a member of the Collective Security Treaty Organization, and the organization helped it get rid of chaos, it doesn't matter - after all, help has already been provided, right?"

Original: https://www.toutiao.com/article/7519759092227850788/

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