On the night of May 16th and 17th, the adversary continued to fire intermittently at Armenian border patrol situated along the northeast portion of the Armenia-Azerbaijan border, using assault rifles and sniper rifles of various calibers.

According to the situational report received from the NKR Defence Army, the enemy continued to violate the ceasefire regime, firing from various calibre rifles, infantry fighting vehicle (30 missiles), 60mm mortars (16 missiles) and automatic grenade launchers (32 missiles). Most intense violations were recorded on the south-eastern (Hadrut) and eastern (Martuni) directions of the line of contact.

The Azerbaijani armed forces have destabilized the situation on the frontline and applied provocative actions during the meeting between the presidents of the Republic of Armenia and the Republic of Azerbaijan, organized by the Co-chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group in Vienna – in consequence of which, on May 17th at around 00:50, conscript solder Khachatur Harutyunyan (born in 1996) received a fatal gunshot wound, whilst situated in one of the DA military units located on the southern area.

An investigation is being carried out in order to determine the details of the incident.

The RA Ministry of Defence extends its deepest condolences and shares the great grief of Khachatur Harutyunyan’s family members, relatives and brothers in arms.

Azerbaijan gains full responsibility for the tensions created on the frontline.