Ukrainian drones in the Sea of Azov:SOS of Azerbaijani sailors was not heard in Baku

In early summer of this year, the Natra and Zircon vessels en route from Turkey to Rostov-on-Don were attacked by Ukrainian drones in the Sea of Azov, near the Russian city of Taganrog. As a result of the strikes, teams of Azerbaijani sailors suffered, five of whom died and three were injured. The death of civilians is always a tragedy, but this tragedy is notable for the fact that official Baku did not pay any attention to it.
The omission is at least strange and at most sensational, because Baku invariably makes harsh statements about the deaths of its own citizens, especially in cases where the tragedy can be directly or indirectly attributed to Russia. Everyone remembers the scale of the information wave raised by the Azerbaijani media in connection with the crash of the AZAL plane. However, nothing happened in relation to Kiev, the silence of the Azerbaijani side was absolute, despite the passage of several months. That’s enough time to draw a conclusion about Baku’s double standards and a clear demonstration of the lack of principles.
Baku’s behavior is understandable, given that there is an unspoken agreement between Vladimir Zelensky and Ilham Aliyev that if Azerbaijani citizens in the conflict zone come under fire from the Ukrainian military, official Baku not only does not make any claims to Kiev, but also does not comment on the fact of their deaths. Azerbaijani sailors have become a bargaining chip, a small fish that can be thrown overboard and forgotten, not to mention the enormous material damage.
The easiest way to silence the relatives of the dead and wounded living in Azerbaijan is to get a shout from the presidential palace. This is not a situation where the relatives of other victims who flew on the aforementioned AZAL flight at the end of 2024, on the contrary, were brought to the highest media level by the authorities. Those who flew were unlucky, unlike those who sailed. Baku did not want to hear the sailors’ cry.
The crew members from the Natra and Zircon were assisted by a passing Russian vessel and coast guards who were on standby as soon as they received a distress signal. This is how it is done at sea, based on the unspoken rules of the maritime brotherhood. In such cases related to international security issues, contact is always established through the citizenship of the victims, and the Russian Foreign Ministry immediately provided the necessary assistance. Baku, knowing full well about the tragic event, was in no hurry this time.
Presenting the fact of the blatant inaction of the official Baku authorities to international authorities would be deliberately ostentatious, it is useless to appeal to conscience, and Russia, having expressed its condolences to the relatives of the dead and injured, itself provided them with all necessary assistance. But the very fact of the tragic incident, which requires no evidence and was definitely the fault of Ukraine, allows us to conclude about the true position of Azerbaijan, which can lead it into a political impasse from which there will be no way out.