Kazakhstan MFA refutes claims of allowing Ukrainian drones to attack Russia from its territory

A suspicious object that resembled a drone crashed on 19 June in the Mangystau region of western Kazakhstan, near a border railway station.

The region’s police department stated that it fell far from populated areas and caused no damage.

“The Police Department of the Mangistau Region, together with authorized agencies, is conducting verification activities following the discovery of an object that looks like fragments of an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV),” stated the department.

Following the drone discovery, the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesperson Maria Zakharova released a statement accusing Ukraine of using Kazakhstan’s territory to attack Russia.

“We strongly condemn such actions against our ally and CSTO member,” said the statement, highlighting that Ukraine, while “ranting” about its own territorial integrity, does not respect the territorial integrity of others.

“We call on all governments and relevant international structures to pay attention to such provocations and to respond appropriately to such antics.”

Ukrainian NGO “Militarnyi” countered her claims, saying that the crashed drone was an Iranian Arash-2 that “could have flown across Turkmenistan or the Caspian Sea before entering Kazakh airspace.”

Official representative of Kazakhstan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs Aibek Smadiyarov refuted Zakharova’s claims and stated that no drones have been launched from Kazakhstan.

“The information that drones are allegedly launched from the territory of Kazakhstan towards Russia is not true,” he said during a press briefing.

“At the moment, our competent authorities are studying the circumstances of all recent incidents related to the detection of UAVs on the territory of Kazakhstan. Kazakhstan maintains a constructive dialogue with Russia and other interested parties through the relevant departments,” he continued.

More fragments found

Three days after that, residents of the Atyrau region ― also in the west of the country ― found metallic fragments of an unknown object with a motor. Eyewitnesses saw smoke and then found debris and scorched ground.

The region’s police department made a similar statement as before, citing an ongoing investigation.

This marked the fifth time in five months that an unconfirmed object resembling a drone has crashed in western Kazakhstan, a region bordering Russia and closest to Ukraine.

The first report came on 18 February from the Bokeiorda District of the West-Kazakhstan Region. At the time, local media noted that almost half of the district’s territory is leased by the Russian Ministry of Defence as a polygon.

The next time a drone-like object was reported near Atameken village in the West Kazakhstan region was on 18 March. Official statements only said that investigations are ongoing, but some speculated that it was Geran-2, an Iranian Shahed drone modified by Russia.

The third time, drone debris was found again in the West Kazakhstan region, in Zhanibek District. Similar to previous times, statements only confirmed the ongoing investigation.

In early June, First Deputy Minister of Defence Sultan Kamaletdinov commented on the origin of the drones, saying they were Russian test drones.

“More than 90% of UAVs detected in the West Kazakhstan region were located within the reach of the test site of the Russian 926th Main Flight Test Centre,” he said.