Euronews · Feb 16, 2026 · Collected from RSS
In a direct statement at the Munich Security Conference, Azerbaijan’s President Ilham Aliyev declared that Russia “deliberately attacked” the Azerbaijani embassy and its infrastructure in Ukraine even after Baku supplied Moscow with the coordinates of its diplomatic missions.
Published on 16/02/2026 - 19:33 GMT+1 Repeated Russian attacks in Ukraine last year “deliberately” targeted Azerbaijan’s diplomatic representation in Kyiv and its infrastructure in Ukraine, Azerbaijan’s President Ilham Aliyev told the Munich Security Conference on Saturday, in what he described as an “unfriendly” act towards Azerbaijan by Russia. Answering a question about whether Baku challenged Moscow over the targeting of Azerbaijan’s energy facilities in Ukraine, Aliyev stated that “there have not only been attacks on Azerbaijan’s infrastructure in Ukraine, but also three attacks on Azerbaijan’s embassy in Ukraine.” The Azerbaijani president revealed that after the embassy was affected by a Russian strike for the first time, “we could imagine that it was an accident and we gave our Russian colleagues all the coordinates of Azerbaijan’s diplomatic representations, including consular departments, our cultural centers and embassy.” However, two more “attacks” followed, which, Aliyev said, were a “deliberate attack on Azerbaijan’s diplomatic representation.” The three incidents took place during Russian bombings in the vicinity of Azerbaijan’s embassy in July, August and November 2025. Azerbaijan’s foreign ministry issued a statement at the time claiming the impact of the Iskander-type missiles on the embassy’s territory caused severe damage but did not result in casualties. Aliyev also mentioned the damage to Azerbaijan’s infrastructure in Ukraine caused by Russian strikes, such as energy facilities belonging to the state oil company SOCAR. SOCAR, which has a significant presence in Ukraine, was repeatedly targeted throughout last summer, including its critical infrastructure for Azerbaijani gas supplies to Ukraine. Azerbaijan's foreign ministry earlier stated that several employees were injured in the strikes. “We act only in a diplomatic way, we cannot do anything else,” Aliyev said, revealing that the Russian ambassador to Ukraine was summoned to Azerbaijan’s foreign ministry and “diplomatic notes” and “special statements” were delivered to address the Russian actions. “Of course, it is an act considered unfriendly towards Azerbaijan, and all the necessary diplomatic steps have been taken by Azerbaijan’s government”, Aliyev added. Russia has consistently denied that its strikes against Azerbaijani diplomatic or energy facilities in Ukraine were intentional, declaring these incidents as "accidental" or the result of Ukrainian air defence failures, but also as necessary strikes against "legitimate Ukrainian military targets." In a response to Aliyev's words, the Russian foreign ministry said “the damage to the Azerbaijani diplomatic mission’s compound (in Kyiv) was likely caused by a malfunction of Ukrainian air defence systems, presumably the impact of a Patriot missile." After the third incident on 14 November, Russia's foreign ministry expressed “sincere regret” over the damage to Azerbaijan’s embassy building in the Ukrainian capital.