Echoes of Armenia's crushing defeat Guillotine for the tyrant

In the "land of stones," the arrest of former Deputy Chief of Staff of the Armenian Armed Forces, Tiran Khachatryan, is stirring significant discussion. According to Armenian media reports, Judge Masis Melkonyan approved the investigator’s request and ordered Khachatryan’s detention for two months. The press service of the Armenian Investigative Committee subsequently issued a statement outlining their version of the incident.

The statement claimed that between October 7 and 17, 2020, former Deputy Chief of Staff Tiran Khachatryan "demonstrated negligence in performing his official duties." Allegedly, he failed to establish a command post for the southern group (the Armenian occupying forces in Karabakh – Ed.), and during combat operations, did not fully implement a number of management measures, which, through negligence, led to serious consequences.

"His actions led to the collapse of the defence, undermined the command system of the troops, and the assigned combat task was disrupted. As a result, the enemy took advantage of the situation and effortlessly seized a strategic height, while in another instance, they took control of other territories," the statement noted.

Naturally, the Armenian opposition has already labelled everything that is happening as an attempt to settle scores with Khachatryan by Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan. So, how did this all unfold? It began on February 24, 2021, when Pashinyan stated in an interview with the news portal 1in.am that the "Iskander" missile systems used by the Armenian side during the 44-day war either didn't explode "or exploded only 10% of the time." In response to a journalist’s doubts, Pashinyan replied, "Maybe it was weaponry from the '80s?" At that time, Khachatryan dismissed Pashinyan’s claims about the inefficiency of the Russian "Iskander" missile systems as unserious.

As a result, Khachatryan was dismissed on the initiative of the Armenian government on February 25, 2021. What happened next? Following this, the General Staff of the Armenian Armed Forces demanded the immediate resignation of Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan and his government. Yes, in this way, the Armenian military opposed Khachatryan's dismissal. The statement was signed by over 40 high-ranking military officials, including the Chief of Staff, Onik Gasparyan.

As we know, this rebellion ended with Pashinyan firing Onik Gasparyan as well. However, as we can see, the dispute between the Armenian military leadership and the Prime Minister of Armenia was about the outcomes of the 44-day war. The same thing is happening now. Armenia is still searching for scapegoats for the military-political fiasco the country experienced, clearly having overestimated its capabilities before the start of the 44-day war.

We all remember that during that time, Armenia was in an atmosphere of euphoria. Not only were there speeches about "Karabakh is Armenia, and period," but also statements that a new Armenian-Azerbaijani war would end with the swift capture of new territories of Azerbaijan. Even during the 44-day war itself, we heard speeches from Armenia that seemed to resemble mass hallucinations. Their essence boiled down to the denial of the obvious failures of the Armenian army, along with the propagation of myths about the "invincibility" of the Armenian army.

The outcome of all this is well-known: over the course of 44 days, around 300 Azerbaijani towns and villages were liberated from the enemy. In the early hours of November 10, 2020, Nikol Pashinyan was forced to sign the Trilateral Statement on the cessation of hostilities. In essence, this was an act of Armenia's capitulation.

It is for this reason that Armenia began searching for scapegoats for that national fiasco. What we are witnessing now is merely another episode in this internal Armenian infighting.

The reality is that, regardless of the name or position of Armenia's prime minister, defense minister, chief of staff, or even deputy chief of staff, the outcome of the Armenian-Azerbaijani war was predetermined. By that time, Azerbaijan had achieved overwhelming military superiority over the adversary in terms of both the size and combat readiness of its army. Moreover, Azerbaijan shocked the world by demonstrating a new generation of warfare.

During the 44-day war, we witnessed the first large-scale use of drones. The UAVs in Azerbaijan's arsenal left the world stunned with their effectiveness. Military experts from various countries still marvel at the audacity and precision of the Azerbaijani special forces’ advance toward Shusha through mountains and forests without heavy equipment. By November 7, Azerbaijani forces had established complete control over Shusha and firmly secured the city. This was a unique operation, etched in gold letters into the annals of global military science.

It was also the inevitable conclusion of the 44-day war, which would have ended in Azerbaijan's victory under any circumstances. Azerbaijan had meticulously prepared for the liberation of its territories, fortifying itself economically and militarily, while Armenia continued to create new myths about the "invincibility" of its army. The entire world ultimately witnessed how 11,000 of these so-called "invincible" soldiers fled the battlefield in utter defeat.

The ongoing search for scapegoats in Armenia is an expected development, one that is viewed with irony in Azerbaijan, nothing more. Moreover, Azerbaijan remains confident in its ability to achieve new victories should Armenia's military and political leadership, influenced by its foreign advisors, attempt another military provocation.

In such a scenario, no one will come to Armenia's aid. And after yet another Armenian fiasco, it will not matter who they try to blame for their failure.