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This is the first instance Azerbaijan has employed air-defense systems since a ceasefire agreement was signed in 1994, Commander-in-Chief of the Nagorno-Karabakh Defense Army, Lieutenant-General Movses Hakobyan told Tert.am.

According to him “by shooting down the Nagorno Karabakh helicopter the enemy says what it has said before.” Asked whether it means Azerbaijan is seeking war, he said: “I think it is so.” Movses Hakobyan also said that the Armenian side will surely retaliate. “No reasons for panic. We will find out what happened and make decisions,” Mr Hakobyan said.

As for the victims, Movses Hakobyan stated that the investigation still goes on.

As NKR Defense Ministry press service reported earlier, today, Nagorno Karabakh Air Forces’ Mi-24 helicopter was shot by the Azerbaijani Armed Forces during military training flight in the airspace in the eastern section of Karabakh – Azerbaijan Line of Contact around 1:45 pm. The land, on which the incident occurred, is in close proximity to the line of contact. Opponent after the incident continued intense bombardment scene from weapons of different caliber. The place where the helicopter was shot is close to the Line of Contact. The enemy continued to fire shots from weapons of different calibers after the incident.

Meanwhile, the press secretary of Armenian Defense Minister Artsrun Hovhannisyan wrote on his Facebook page that Azerbaijani Armed Forces have carried out an unprecedented provocation on the border with the Republic of Nagorno Karabakh; this has also led to an escalation of the situation. In the same time the fabrications of the Azerbaijani side as if the Armenian helicopters had attacked their positions and they allegedly had merely responded to this step, are senseless. "The study of the wreckage of the helicopter will confirm that he was not armed. The escalation of the Azerbaijani side has continued even after the helicopter fall down. Moreover, the Azerbaijani side continued shelling, not allowing even to get closer to the pilots. The consequences of this unprecedented escalation will be very harmful for the Azerbaijani side and will remain as a stain on the conscience of the military-political leadership of Azerbaijan. Captain of the helicopter was Major Sergei Sahakyan. Information about the fate of the crew will be given later," Artsrun Hovhannisyan stated.