Russian helicopter shot down over Armenia and a "painful" truce negotiated

 Azerbaijan Says It Shot Down Russian Helicopter "By Mistake" & Offers "Compensation"

Zero Hedge, 

9 November, 2020

Update: Azerbaijan has quickly owned up to the downing of the Russian military helicopter early Monday evening (local time). According to TASS citing official statements from Azerbaijan's foreign ministry:

Azerbaijan downed Russian helicopter by mistake, the republic's Foreign Ministry announced.

Baku is ready to compensate Moscow for the downed helicopter.

The Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry expressed condolences over the death of the crew members of the downed Russian helicopter.

Though the incident is still being investigated, the Russian Ministry of Defense put out a statement indicating two of its pilots were killed. The MoD said a portable air-defense system was fired on the gunship from the ground near the village of Yeraskh close to the border with Azerbaijan.

Unconfirmed footage of the shoot down is circulating via Russian sources:

The incident comes after Azerbaijan's army has reportedly been making big gains on the ground in Nagorno-Karabakh over the past days.

* * *

There are breaking reports out of Interfax and Sputnik Armenia that a Russian helicopter has been shot down over Armenian territory related to intense fighting in the Nagorno-Karabakh contested border region.

Interfax is reporting that two Russian pilots were killed in the fiery crash and at least one other injured. Rescue operations and an investigation are underway.

Russian Mi-24 gunships have reportedly been active over Armenian territory.

The largest public radio broadcaster of Armenia has aired the following early details:

A Russian helicopter has crashed in Armenia’s Ararat Province, the Ministry of Emergency Situations reports. The Ministry says it received an alarm from Ararat Regional Crisis Management Center at 6:39 pm today.

The helicopter crashed in the gorge between the villages of Yeraskh and Paruyr Syak. Fire and rescue brigades have been dispatched to the scene.

Armenian military news sites are circulating nighttime footage of what appears to be a helicopter going down, but the video is unverified.

BREAKING NEWS: VIDEO REPORTEDLY SHOWING THE RUSSIAN HELICOPTER GETTING SHOT DOWN IN ARMENIA BY AZERBAIJANI FIRE FROM NAKHICHEVAN. pic.twitter.com/PHV0I2J6g9

— 301🇦🇲 (@301_AD) November 9, 2020

Early reports also suggest the downing may have been from a MANPAD fired from the ground or possibly other type of portable air-defense system.

The Russian Ministry of Defense appears to have confirmed that it's lost one of its Mi-24 gunships over Armenian territory near the border.  "The Russian Mi-24 helicopter crashed in Armenia after being subjected to fire from the ground, the Russian Defense Ministry reports," according to Russia's RT.

Russia's military has thus far been monitoring the fighting in Nagorno-Karabakh, warning Azerbaijan not to extend the battle into Armenian sovereign territory.

While Moscow has a defense pact with Yerevan, it's thus far sought to not get involved. However this may immediately change things. Russia's Sputnik details further that the Russian gunship had been escorting a convoy which departed from Russia's lone military base on Armenian soil in Gyumri:

A Russian Mi-24 (NATO reporting name: Hind) military helicopter has crashed on the territory of Armenia near the village of Yeraskh after it was shot from the ground by unknown forces using a man-portable air-defence system (SAM), Russia’s Defence Ministry has stated. The crash was caused by a loss of control after a missile hit the aircraft, the ministry added.

The report notes further: "At the time of the time of the attack, the helicopter was escorting a convoy from Russia’s 102nd military base, which is located in Armenia, as it was moving past Yeraskh, near the border with Azerbaijan's Nakhichevan Autonomous Republic."

When was the last time America did ANY peacemaking?

Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan has announced a peace deal with Azerbaijan over Nagorno-Karabakh, mediated by Russia. The content of the arrangement is “unbelievably painful” and “not a victory,” he said.

Pashinyan said he personally made the “very difficult” decision, as a result of the current military situation, believing it to be the best under the circumstances.

“I kneel before all our victims, I bow to all our soldiers, fighters, generals and volunteers, who have protected their homeland with their lives. They have saved Artsakh,” Pashinyan wrote in a Facebook post, using the Armenian term for Nagorno-Karabakh.

We fought till the end. And we will win. Artsakh stands.

https://www.rt.com/russia/506236-pashinyan-aliev-putin-karabakh/

Russian President Vladimir Putin has confirmed that Baku and Yerevan have struck a deal to end the conflict over Nagorno-Karabakh, and that Russian peacekeepers will be deployed along the line of contact.

The agreement will create conditions for a long-term settlement of the crisis in the interests of both peoples, Putin said shortly after midnight Moscow time on Tuesday (22:30 GMT Monday), confirming reports of the armistice Armenian PM Nikol Pashinyan described as “painful” but necessary.

https://www.rt.com/russia/506238-putin-russian-peacekeepres-karabakh/

Crowds besieged the parliament and government offices in Armenia’s capital Yerevan after a peace deal with Azerbaijan over the disputed region of Nagorno-Karabakh was announced, involving Armenia surrendering some territory.

Gunshots could be heard in the streets of Yerevan as the angry protesters stormed the government building, looking for Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan in the early hours of Tuesday, after he announced the “painful” agreement to give up land to Azerbaijan in exchange for the end to bloodshed.

https://www.rt.com/russia/506241-armenia-karabakh-deal-protest/