Direct flights from Germany to Russia and back are causing a stir: now there are new details about what’s behind it.
Update from March 7, 8:30 a.m.: After the mysterious flight from Frankfurt to Moscow and back to Nuremberg, further details are made public. Apparently, these refute an initially known theory: Accordingly, it was speculated whether a confidant of Vladimir Putin had been flown to Germany due to a medical emergency. According to Nuremberg Airport, however, this was not the case. “The flight from Moscow to Nuremberg was an empty flight,” said an airport spokesman for the news portal t-online. Accordingly, only the crew was on board the flight with the number “IFA1054”.
However, it is not yet clear who was on board on the way from Frankfurt to Moscow. The Federal Ministry of Transport confirmed to the news portal that it was an “air ambulance” machine. These are flights for emergency patients who are exempt from sanctions against Russia.
Mysterious flight from Frankfurt to Moscow: who did Putin take away?
First report from March 5, 10 p.m.: Moscow – There is war in Europe: About a year ago Russia invaded Ukraine. That is why there is also a flight ban to Russia. It is therefore surprising that a private plane recently flew to Moscow: A flight of a Bombardier Challenger 604 from Frankfurt to the Russian capital raises questions: about the background of the flight and about the possible passenger list.
The flight took off on Saturday afternoon (March 4, 2023) in the direction of Moscow’s Vnukovo Airport and landed there at 5:27 p.m. local time. Just one hour later, the machine with the registration D-AFAA flew back to Germany and landed in Nuremberg at 7:14 p.m. The FAI Aviation Group aircraft is said to be a machine used for emergency patients, like the one that Alexei Navalny flew to Germany on August 22, 2020. The Kremlin critic was taken to Berlin for treatment after being poisoned with the neurotoxin Novichok. The machines have special medical equipment on board. Observers on Twitter suspect that a medical emergency could again have been the reason for the current flight – and that all countries concerned had therefore given permission to fly over.
Direct flight to Russia: Is the passenger the oligarch Sergei Roldugin?
The investigative journalist Christo Grozev from the research team “Bellingcat” also follows this theory and appeals to one Twitter post on Russian Telegram channels. The alleged patient could be the millionaire oligarch Sergei Roldugin. Roldugin is a childhood friend of Vladimir Putin – nicknamed “Putin’s Cellist”. But there is no confirmation for the theory.
Roldugin arguably plays an important role in Putin’s wealth management. The so-called Panama Papers had already noticed that Roldugin owns many shell companies. Another theory on Twitter is that it is another Putin friend: Nikolai Rastorguyev. The musician had publicly sided with the Russian aggressors and was sanctioned by the European Union. (cgsc/you)
