‘Fighting Spirit’ of Army Unhindered, Says Defense Minister

A procession of Armenian servicemen at Tuesday’s funeral of the three crew members of Artsakh’s downed helicopter. (Photo: Armenpress)

YEREVAN—Speaking at the funeral of the three crew members of Artsakh’s downed helicopter on Tuesday at the Yerablur Military Cemetery, Artsakh’s Defense Minister Movses Hakobyan said an investigation is underway into the downing of the helicopter by Azerbaijan and assured that it will provide answers to key questions.

The Commander stressed that Azerbaijan cannot restrict flights in the airspace of Artsakh. “Flights are and will be conducted in Artsakh,” he said.

Hakobyan noted that this incident will not affect the fighting spirit of the Armenian army. “The army is for war and this incident is an episode of war,” he said.

On Nov. 12, an unarmed Mi-24 helicopter belonging to the Artsakh Air Force was shot down by Azerbaijani armed forces while conducting an exercise flight. The area where the helicopter was shot down stayed under fire from Azerbaijani forces continuously following the downing of the aircraft. A special operation was eventually carried out to retrieve the remains of the slain pilots. The Commander of the staff was the Major Sergey Sahakyan, accompanied by Senior Lieutenant Sarkis Nazaryan and Lieutenant Azat Sahakyan.