Exactly a year ago, on September 27, 2020, Azerbaijan's Patriotic War began. On that day, Armenia's occupying forces subjected the positions of the armed forces of Azerbaijan along the front line and the adjacent populated areas in Azerbaijan to intensive fire with the use of large-calibre weapons, artillery and mortars. Baku decided to launch a counter-offensive operation to ensure the safety of the civilian population. Vestnik Kavkaza offers its readers to follow the events of the 44 days of Azerbaijan's Patriotic War as they were covered a year ago.
On the night of the war's eighteenth day, the liberation army of Azerbaijan neutralized Armenia's operational-tactical missile systems with ballistic missiles located near the border, which were targeted at the peaceful population and civilian infrastructure in Ganja and Mingachevir. As it will become known later, the missiles placed on them could reach the Azerbaijani capital.
At night, Armenia's occupation forces continued their attempts to seize the lands re-liberated from them, shelling of peaceful settlements in Azerbaijan also continued. Ankara said it would favour four-way talks between Russia, Azerbaijan, Armenia and Turkey to try to solve a conflict. The French Foreign Ministry has promised to adopt a neutral stance.
In the morning, U.S. presidential candidate Joseph Biden demanded that Armenia withdraw its troops from the land of Azerbaijan, and his "right hand" called for a ceasefire. The Russian Minister of Defense again phoned his Azerbaijani and Armenian counterparts, and after 12:00 the Foreign Ministers of Russia and Azerbaijan spoke on the phone.
After 10:00, the Armenian Defense Ministry "allowed" itself to target any objects on the territory of Azerbaijan. The Armenian Ministry of Defense also reported that it could not provide evidence of the participation of Syrian militants in the war, since they are "eaten by wild boars in the swamps of Araz." Later, Yerevan's fake news about the shelling of the hospital was refuted.
Russia suggested deploying Russian military observers on the line of contact between the Azerbaijani and Armenian troops. In an interview with Haber Turk TV channel, Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev expressed confidence that the war will end in peace. The Ministry of Defense of Azerbaijan stressed that Azerbaijan will continue neutralizing Armenia's military targets to ensure the safety of its civilians.
In the morning, Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan addressed the nation: he expressed gratitude to Russia for mediating efforts, but refused to negotiate peace with Azerbaijan. Shortly before 15:00, it became known about the liberation of eight villages in Fizuli and Khojavend regions. By this time, about 80% of the separatists, invaders and illegal settlers had left the occupied city of Shusha.
The Interstate Aviation Committee drew attention to the danger of hostilities for civilian aircraft. In the evening, presidents of Russia and Turkey Vladimir Putin and Recep Tayyip Erdogan discussed the war in a telephone conversation. At the same time, video footage of the liberated city of Jebrail was published.
Thus, on the eighteenth day of the war, having defended the previously liberated Hadrut and Jabrayil, the Azerbaijani liberation army advanced to Fizuli and de-occupied eight villages of the Fizuli and Khojavend regions. The only time during the war when Azerbaijani artillery struck the border region of Armenia was to destroy missile systems aimed at civilians. Calls have increased for the introduction of military observers to ensure an armistice.
