Russia military explains incident in Armenia's Panik village

Governor of Armenia’s Shirak Province Karen Sarukhanyan met with the deputy commander of staff at the 102nd Russian Military Base in Gyumri, Aleksei Polyukhovich, to discuss the incident that occurred yesterday in Panik village.

"Aleksei Polyukhovich apologized and noted that the incident was a result of carelessness, assuring that there will no longer be such an omission in their work," Sarukhanyan said.

He explained that the military exercises were conducted to enhance the combat-readiness of the military base. "We realize that the population was worried and frightened. We acknowledge that we have failed and the community was not properly informed. We will conduct a service investigation, and those guilty will be brought to account," News.am cited Sarukhanyan as saying.

The Panik village residents on July 17 heard sounds of shootings and explosions. Sometime thereafter, it was found out that the ones carrying out these shootings and explosions were the servicemen from the 102nd Russian Military Base in Gyumri, and that they had entered the village without notifying and without documents, and conducted military exercises.