DOMINANT ANGLE
Moscow is relaying the version of the Emirati prosecution as closely as possible to the statement: a planned suicide attack on Ben-Gourion Airport, without its own investigation or political commentary.
Dominant angle identified — does not reflect unanimity of this country’s media
KEY POINTS
- 01
According to the UAE Attorney General cited by WAM via TASS, the Omani co-pilot wanted to carry out a suicide attack on Ben-Gourion's passenger terminal to cause the maximum number of casualties.
- 02
Vedomosti, according to Reuters, indicates that the plan was inspired by September 11, 2001, and that the suspect had used two previous flights to Tel Aviv to learn the route and the airport.
- 03
The investigation began on October 1; on October 3, the prosecutor reported an attack with an emergency axe on the commander, and the final results are still to be announced.
ANALYSIS
Moscow, October 10, 2026. The Russian press is covering the Flydubai case through dispatches, relying on statements from the United Arab Emirates' Attorney General, Hamad Saif Al Shamsi. TASS, reporting from Doha, headlined on October 9 that the co-pilot of the September 30 Dubai-Tel Aviv flight had planned a "terrorist attack" at Ben-Gurion Airport. The agency cites the Emirati agency WAM: the co-pilot, an Omani national, wanted to "take control of the plane" to carry out a suicide attack on the passenger terminal, "with the aim of causing the maximum number of victims possible." TASS adds that the man was subdued by the crew and passengers, and the plane made an emergency landing in Saudi Arabia.
Vedomosti, on the same day, relies on Reuters, which quotes the prosecutor. The daily reiterates the detail of a plan "inspired by the September 11, 2001 attacks" in the United States. It specifies that the suspect used two previous flights to Tel Aviv to "get familiar with the route and the airport." The investigation was opened on October 1. Vedomosti also recalls that on October 3, the prosecutor had stated that the co-pilot had attacked the commander in the cockpit with a safety axe and attempted to take control. The final results, according to Mr. Al Shamsi, will be announced after all necessary procedures have been completed.
The newspaper notes that the plane, flight FZ1073, landed in Saudi Arabia after transmitting the code used in case of possible hijacking while in flight. It also notes a discrepancy in nationality: Ynet had reported that the first pilot was Omani and the second Emirati, while the prosecutor identifies the co-pilot as Omani.
Neither of the two articles comments on the consequences for Israel, the Emirates, or the Abraham Accords, nor does it cite any official Russian reaction. They do not mention the suspect's identity, his background in Australia, or the injured commander. The tone remains that of a dispatch: who says what, on what date, according to what source. The Russian reading therefore mainly retains what the Emirati prosecutor's office says, and what its investigation still needs to establish.
