Sergei Melikov, the head of Dagestan, denounced the incident as a severe breach of the law and attributed the organization of the riots at Makhachkala airport to “enemies” who he claimed were attempting to destabilize the situation in Dagestan. Previously, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky characterized the events in Makhachkala on Sunday as part of a prevailing culture of hatred towards other nations in Russia, which he attributed to state television and the authorities. He recalled statements made by Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov the previous year, which had incited controversy by linking Zelensky’s Jewish heritage to alleged Nazi elements in Ukraine.