ArmInfo. As a result of the Azerbaijani provocation on September 13-14, Armenia had the largest territorial losses in the direction of Jermuk. Major General Arakel Martikyan, Deputy Chief of the General Staff of the Armenian Armed Forces, told foreign diplomats in Vardenis on September 29.
According to him, the biggest territorial losses were in the direction of Jermuk.
The enemy also managed to capture several combat positions in the direction of Vardenis. <It cannot be said that they had a serious territorial advance here, they managed to capture several combat positions. But if these battle positions are not so important from a tactical point of view, they are important from a strategic point of view, because they are right above our population centers, and the enemy can establish some control over our roads and routes. And most importantly, with their presence they morally oppress the inhabitants of nearby villages>, said the deputy chief of the General Staff.
At the same time, as Martikyan emphasized, the enemy managed to reach only those positions in Gegharkunik, where the Armenian soldiers stood to the end and gave their lives. In those combat positions that the Azerbaijanis managed to occupy, we had only losses and seriously wounded, he pointed out.
The Deputy Chief of the General Staff emphasized that allegedly "guided by humanitarian slogans", the armed forces of Azerbaijan brutally killed wounded servicemen, behaved shamelessly with them, showed absolutely cruel treatment to the bodies of the dead, especially to female servicemen where there were also medical instructors and medical workers. Speaking about the possibility of new provocations from Baku, Martikyan said that the armed forces of Armenia always expect them. <There is no fear of attack, but there is always caution, and we are always ready and waiting. Because each of us, I mean the serviceman, is clearly aware that the problem has not been resolved, and the enemy will try to solve the problem in his favor>, Martikyan said. As the deputy chief of the General Staff assured, in this situation, the distance between the positions of the parties does not matter from the point of view of combat operations. "We are waiting, preparing to meet and defeat the enemy," he said.
Arakel Martikyan assured that the Armed Forces would do everything possible to stop the advance of the enemy and ensure a free, independent and secure life for the population of the country. <There is an order to restore the sovereign borders of Armenia. It is the duty of the Armed Forces to comply with the order of the Supreme Commander-in-Chief, we will do everything possible to achieve this goal>, said the Deputy Chief of the General Staff.
Touching upon the operational situation, he said that today the situation on the line of contact was relatively calm, except for several violations of the ceasefire regime. The last major violation of the fire regime occurred on September 28 in the Jermuk region, where the enemy used 82-mm mortars and UAVs, as a result of which three soldiers from the Armenian side were killed.