The riots at the Makhachkala airport were operated from the territory of Ukraine, said the head of Dagestan Sergei Melikov. “I believe that the initiators of this action are, of course, our enemies – those who operated these events from the territory of Ukraine. But, unfortunately, support for the participants was also provided by those for whom the socio-economic transformations in Dagestan are not beneficial,” he said.

In turn, President of Ukraine Vladimir Zelensky also commented on the storming of the airport in Makhachkala, which was carried out by local residents “in search of Jews.” “Russian anti-Semitism and hatred of other peoples are systemic and deeply rooted. This is not an isolated case in Makhachkala - this is part of the widespread culture of hatred towards other peoples in Russia, which is propagated by state television, experts and the authorities,” Zelensky wrote.

The Russian Main Internal Affairs Directorate for the North Caucasus Federal District reported that the airport is completely under the control of law enforcement agencies. More than 150 active participants in the riots have been identified, 60 of them have been detained. Nine police officers were injured, two of them are in hospital. Makhachkala airport may open on October 31 due to the stabilization of the situation, the Federal Air Transport Agency said.

The riots began on the evening of October 29. Several hundred pro-Palestinian people came to greet the plane from Israel. Those gathered looked for Jews, checked passports, stopped cars, broke fences, and threw stones at security forces.