Armenia: Officer arrested for ignoring sound of drone that killed 18 troops

PanARMENIAN.Net - The deputy commander of a military unit identified as Lieutenant Colonel A.V. was arrested on suspicion of giving an order during hostilities in Nagorno-Karabakh, which led to the death of 18 servicemen, and the wounding of another, the Armenian Prosecutor's Office revealed on Wednesday, December 30.

The father of one of the deceased servicemen wrote a letter to Prosecutor General Artur Davtyan, in which he recounted how, after learning that his son had been sent to Karabakh, he went there in his car to support the troops. He said that on October 9, although they could hear an enemy attack UAV flying nearby, the deputy commander of the military unit ordered the servicemen to get back in the vehicle and continue driving. Minutes later, the car came under drone fire, and the soldiers in it were killed, the man wrote in his statement.

The Investigative Committee found out that the deputy commander of the military unit did ignore the sound of the drone, ordered the servicemen to get back in the car and continue the road. He reportedly noted that UAVs are "the problem of the air defense forces".

"Based on the evidence obtained, Lieutenant Colonel A.V. has been charged with abuse of power during martial law, which has led to dire consequences. On the same day, a petition for his arrest was submitted, which the Syunik court of general jurisdiction satisfied," the Prosecutor General's office said.

Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, Russian and Azerbaijani Presidents Vladimir Putin and Ilham Aliyev on November 9 signed a statement to end the war in Karabakh after almost 45 days. Under the deal, the Armenian side has returned all the seven regions surrounding Nagorno-Karabakh, having lost a part of Karabakh itself in hostilities.