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Another An-124 Ruslan plane returns to Moscow after peacekeeping mission in Kazakhstan

Nineteen more plane arrived from Kazakhstan earlier

MOSCOW, January 16. /TASS/. Another An-124 Ruslan military transport plane of the Russian aerospace forces has landed at Chkalovsky airdrome near Moscow after the completion of the peacekeeping mission in Kazakhstan, the Russian defense ministry said on Sunday.

Nineteen more plane arrived from Kazakhstan earlier. "Twenty military transport planes of the Russian aerospace forces (two An-124 Ruslan and 18 Il-76 planes) with Russian peacekeepers from the CSTO (Collective Security Treaty Organization - TASS) Collective Peacekeeping Forces have arrived from Kazakhstan to Chkalovsky airdrome outside Moscow," the ministry said.

Protests erupted in several Kazakh cities on January 2, escalating into mass riots with government buildings being ransacked in several cities a few days later. The ensuing violence left scores of people injured, with fatalities also being reported. Subsequently, Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev turned to the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) requesting assistance from the Russia-led bloc and peacekeepers were deployed to Kazakhstan. Law and order, Kazakh authorities affirm, was restored to all of the country’s regions.

The withdrawal of the contingent from Kazakhstan began on January 13. The withdrawal process is expected to be completed by January 19.