Azerbaijan marks five years since Karabakh war victory

Five years ago, on November 8, 2020, President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev announced the liberation of the country's cultural capital - the city of Shusha. This event was the final chapter in the 30-year Karabakh war and is celebrated today in the Republic of Azerbaijan as Victory Day.

Today, on November 8, Azerbaijan is celebrating the fifth anniversary of its Victory Day, commemorating the country's success in the 2020 Karabakh war. 

In accordance with the decree signed by Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev, November 8 is commemorated as Victory Day in Azerbaijan. On November 9-10, 2020, the Russian, Azerbaijani and Armenian leader signed a trilateral statement declaring a complete ceasefire.

On November 8, 2020, the city of Shusha was liberated from Armenian occupying forces. Shusha holds special significance for Azerbaijan due to its immense cultural heritage. When President Ilham Aliyev announced this, it became clear that the Karabakh War had been decisively won by the Azerbaijani liberation army.

By November 2020, the Azerbaijani Armed Forces had fully liberated the districts of Fuzuli, Jabrayil, Zangilan, and Gubadli, along with parts of the Lachin, Aghdara, Khojavend, and Khojaly districts. The entire south of Karabakh and Eastern Zangazur was freed from the invaders, with Armenian troops holding on only in the central and northern parts of the former occupation zone. Furthermore, they were left with only one road for receiving reinforcements from Armenia - through Lachin to Khankendi. The northern route through Aghdara was completely controlled by the Azerbaijani military, both from the heights of the Murovdag mountain range and from positions in the liberated villages of Sugovushan and Talish.

Shusha is situated on a mountain overlooking Khankendi and is in immediate proximity to the Lachin road. As soon as it was liberated by Azerbaijani special forces on November 8, the Armenian occupying forces were caught in a "cauldron": they were completely cut off from Armenia and surrounded on all sides by the Azerbaijani Armed Forces. Any further continuation of hostilities by Armenia became pointless: Yerevan could do nothing to save its encircled troops other than surrender. This is precisely why the Armenian leadership requested emergency ceasefire negotiations, which concluded within 24 hours - the aggressor side had raised the white flag, admitting defeat in the Karabakh War.