After airport chaos, tanker blast, Putin fires Russian transport minister

Russian President Vladimir Putin dismissed Transport Minister Roman Starovoit on July 7, following a sequence of high-profile disruptions to Russia's aviation and transport sectors.

The official decree was revealed on Russia's authorized info portal. No cause was given, however Starovoit's departure comes after practically 300 flights had been grounded at main Russian airports on July 5–6 resulting from safety threats from Ukrainian drone assaults.

Including to the turmoil, an explosion aboard the Eco Wizard tanker on the Ust-Luga port in Leningrad Oblast brought on an ammonia leak on July 6, prompting an emergency response.

Starovoit, sanctioned by Ukraine and Western international locations for his position within the battle towards Ukraine, had served as governor of Russia's Kursk Oblast earlier than being appointed transport minister in Might 2024.

In response to the Russian state-controlled newspaper Vedomosti, Deputy Transport Minister Andrei Nikitin, a former Novgorod Oblast governor, is a number one candidate to switch Starovoit.

On July 6, the Russian Federal Aviation Company confirmed that 287 flights had been delayed or canceled at Moscow's Sheremetyevo Airport, St. Petersburg's Pulkovo Airport, and Nizhny Novgorod's Strigino Airport resulting from security considerations from drone exercise.

Kyiv's drone marketing campaign, which has more and more disrupted civilian air journey in Russia, is a part of Ukraine's broader technique to undermine Russia's logistics far past the entrance line.

Russian authorities mentioned the ammonia leak at Ust-Luga was "minor," however the pro-Kremlin Telegram channel, Baza, reported that an unexplained explosion preceded the incident.

The Eco Wizard tanker is believed to be a part of Russia's "shadow fleet" — a community of vessels used to bypass worldwide sanctions on Russian oil and chemical exports. 5 tankers have been broken by explosions at Russian ports because the begin of 2025.

The Kremlin has not made a proper assertion on the minister's dismissal.

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