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 twenty-fifth day of the war, on October 21, the Armenian Foreign Minister arrived in Moscow for the third time in two weeks. At this time, the Armenian occupation troops retreated to Gubadli under the onslaught of the Azerbaijani liberation army. Video footage of the strikes on the positions of the invaders has been published.
In the morning it was reported that over the past day, the invaders fired 498 shells at six peaceful cities of Azerbaijan, most of them at Terter. It became known that Armenian commanders refused to lead soldiers into battle with the Azerbaijani army. Video footage of the catastrophic situation in the Jebrail village of Chereken was published.
Also in the morning, the head of the Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry flew to Moscow. Baku demanded from foreign citizens not to participate in hostilities in Karabakh and Zangezur. Iranian doctors expressed a desire to come to the war zone to treat the military and civilians of Azerbaijan.
By 14:00, the Russian Foreign Minister held separate talks with his Azerbaijani and Armenian counterparts. Video footage of the desertion of Armenian tankers who abandoned their equipment on the battlefield was published.
Meanwhile, Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan called on Armenian citizens to "fight to the bitter end" for the occupation of Karabakh. It was emphasized in Baku that this is how Yerevan indicates its unwillingness to live peacefully. Three more drones of the Armenian Armed Forces were destroyed. The Armenian Defense Ministry has recognized the death of 834 occupiers.
By 18:00, the import of new Turkish goods into Armenia was officially banned for the first six months of 2021. Pashinyan addressed local authorities in the Armenian regions with an appeal to form volunteer detachments against the background of the continuing retreat of the occupying forces in the Gubadli and Jebrail regions.
After 19:00, Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev announced the liberation of 21 villages and the settlement of Minjivan in the Zangilan, Jebrail and Fizuli regions. Armenian President Armen Sarkisyan met with NATO Secretary General in Brussels. The U.S. Secretary of State spoke about the agenda of the talks with the Foreign Ministers of Azerbaijan and Armenia.
In the evening, it became known that Nikol Pashinyan was ready to meet with Ilham Aliyev personally. Baku reminded Pashinyan of his own morning words about the war to a victorious end.
Thus, on the twenty-fifth day of the war, the liberation army of Azerbaijan began to liberate the settlements of Karabakh and Zangezur from occupation in dozens. Against the background of a new visit to Moscow by the foreign ministers of Azerbaijan and Armenia, Nikol Pashinyan urged Armenian citizens not to give up, but immediately expressed his readiness to meet with Ilham Aliyev. The war was approaching its natural end.
