The Russian Ambassador honored the memory of Russian pilots killed by the enemy on the day the 44-day war around Artsakh ended.

ArmInfo. Russian Ambassador to Armenia Sergey Kopyrkin visited the memorial in the village of Yeraskh in the Ararat region dedicated to the Russian pilots of the Mi-24 helicopter crew who died tragically six years ago during the deployment of the Russian peacekeeping contingent in Nagorno-Karabakh in accordance with the trilateral statement of the leaders of Russia, Armenia, and Azerbaijan on a complete ceasefire and all military actions in the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict zone of November 9, 2020.

According to the press service of the Russian Embassy in Armenia, he was accompanied by Deputy Commander of the 102nd Russian Military Base Yuri Poshchenko, Commander of the Erebuni Air Base Alexander Petrov, Head of the FSB Border Department in Armenia Valery Merkuryev, Defense Attaché at the Russian Embassy in Armenia Alexander Goryainov, Military and Air Force Attaché R.N. Polyanovsky, Head of the Rossotrudnichestvo Representative Office in Armenia Vadim Fefilov, Director of the House of Moscow in Yerevan Hayk Melikyan, and representatives of public circles and compatriot organizations. In his speech, the head of the Russian diplomatic mission emphasized the importance of preserving the memory of those who gave their lives to resolve the situation in the region during an exceptionally difficult period: "It was on this day, November 9, 2020, that the leaders of Russia, Armenia, and Azerbaijan signed a trilateral statement on a complete ceasefire and all military actions in the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict zone. Russia and President Vladimir Putin personally made significant efforts to achieve agreements that stopped the bloody war. "Their implementation was paid for, among other things, at the cost of the lives of Russian peacekeepers," the Russian diplomat said.

On November 9, 2020, the Russian Ministry of Defense reported that a Russian Mi-24 helicopter was shot down in the airspace over Armenian territory, outside the combat zone. Two crew members were killed, and one was evacuated with moderate injuries. The Azerbaijani side admitted that it allegedly "accidentally" shot down the Russian helicopter, apologized, and expressed its willingness to pay Russia compensation. The Russian side also conducted an investigation. Initially, a criminal case was opened under Article 351 of the Russian Criminal Code (violation of flight rules or preparation for them, resulting in death by negligence), but it was later reclassified as a more serious offense – Part 2 of Article 105 (intentional murder of two or more persons). The outcome of the investigation was not publicly announced.