Artsakh Deputy Defense Minister resigns

ArmInfo.Deputy Commander of the Defense Forces of Nagorno Karabakh, Samvel Karapetyan (Ohanovsky), today, on April 2, announced his resignation from his post.  In his statement, Karapetyan stressed that after thirty years of military  service, he voluntarily leaves office and is demobilized.

At the same time, Karapetyan stresses that in case of danger, he will  not lose a minute to defend his native land.

According to him, he leaves with pride, as the years of military  service were marked by both outstanding achievements and memories  associated with his comrades. <I bow to the memory of all the heroes,  with whom I went a decent battle path. I am also grateful to all my  comrades-in-arms, who defended the title of Armenian soldier with  honor and today, with selfless devotion, continue the sacred work of  protecting the homeland, "the statement reads.

It should be noted that the media predicted Karapetyan's resignation  a few days ago and attributed this to a wave of personnel changes in  Artsakh, which were partially dictated by Yerevan. Samvel Karapetyan  (<Ohanov Samo>) is one of the associates of the Artsakh movement. He  served in the Armed Forces of the USSR in 1980-1983. Since 1988,  member of the Karabakh movement. On February 22, 1988, headed a  detachment of 200 volunteers not far from Askeran, stopped a group of  10,000 Azerbaijanis who allegedly moved from Aghdam to Stepanakert to  a rally. He actively participated in the war in Nagorno-Karabakh, was  known under the name "Ohanov Samo", taken in honor of his maternal  uncle Rudik Ohanov.

In 1992-1994, the Stepanakert regiment of the NKR Defense Army, under  the command of Karapetyan, took control of about 18 settlements with  a predominantly Armenian population, capturing a large number of  weapons and equipment of the armed forces of Azerbaijan. Karapetyan  participated in battles in the territory from the Araks River to Omar  Pass (for the settlements of Shushi, Lachin, Martakert, Kelbajar,  Fizuli, etc.). He was repeatedly wounded on the battlefield, and  after being seriously wounded near Horadiz, he was saved only thanks  to a three-day operation by a surgeon, Professor Pavel Petrovich  Ananikyan.

Karapetyan was awarded the Order <Hero of Artsakh> (2000), the Order  <Battle Cross> 1st Degree of the Republic of Armenia, the Order  <Battle Cross> 1st Degree NKR, the Medal <Golden Eagle> (2000), the  Medal <Merit for the Fatherland> 2nd degree (2015) and other awards.