A army car carrying Russian peacekeepers got here beneath fireplace and its crew was killed as Azerbaijan stepped up its assaults on the breakaway area of Nagorno-Karabakh, Moscow confirmed Wednesday.
In an announcement launched by the Ministry of Protection, officers stated that the patrol was hit close to the village of Dzhanyatag. “A automobile with Russian servicemen got here beneath small arms fireplace. On account of the shelling, the Russian servicemen within the car had been killed,” the message reads. The variety of useless was not disclosed.
The incident comes after Azerbaijan launched assaults on Nagorno-Karabakh and its armed forces introduced they’d successfully taken management of the breakaway area in a lightning offensive operation. A Moscow-brokered ceasefire has since been agreed, with talks on the way forward for the territory slated for Thursday.
The Armenian authorities has presided over an more and more fierce row with the Kremlin, citing Russian peacekeepers’ inaction within the area.
Earlier this month, Armenia, as soon as an in depth Kremlin ally, determined to ship humanitarian assist to Ukraine for the primary time for the reason that begin of the Russian invasion. Yerevan additionally supposed to conduct joint army drills with the USA.
With Russia distracted by its more and more catastrophic struggle in Ukraine, fears are rising in Armenia over whether or not President Vladimir Putin’s troopers are prepared or in a position to maintain the peace within the Caucasus. Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan advised POLITICO in an interview final week that the peacekeeping mission had failed.
“On account of the occasions in Ukraine, the capabilities of Russia have modified,” Pashinyan stated, acknowledging that Moscow was in search of to keep away from alienating Azerbaijan and its shut ally Turkey, each of which have risen in strategic significance for the Kremlin for the reason that begin of the struggle in Ukraine.
“Russia will abandon Armenia, it is not going to combat there, it’s not a associate for any nation. All of the commitments that Russia has made to Armenia at the moment are price nothing, and it’ll go away it alone with this downside,” Olexiy Danilov, secretary of Ukraine’s Safety and Protection Council, advised the Ukrainska Pravda information web site within the wake of the offensive.
