On November 12, 2014, at approximately 13:45, Azerbaijani forces violated the ceasefire by shooting down a Mi-24 attack helicopter from the Artsakh Defense Army Air Force over the eastern section of the Artsakh-Azerbaijan contact line. The helicopter had been on a training flight as part of the “Unity-2014” joint operational-tactical exercises conducted by the armed forces of Armenia and Artsakh. Following the attack, the helicopter exploded and crashed near Artsakh’s positions.
On November 12, 2014, around 13:45, on the eastern section of the contact line between the Artsakh-Azerbaijani forces, a Mi-24 strike helicopter of the Air Force of the Defense Army of Artsakh was shot down during a training flight, resulting from a violation of the ceasefire… pic.twitter.com/O1Gbq2zubr
— 301🇦🇲 (@301arm) November 12, 2023
The helicopter’s crew—Major Sergey Sahakyan, Senior Lieutenant Sarkis Nazaryan, and Lieutenant Azat Sahakyan—lost their lives in the attack.
A day after the crash, Azerbaijani media released footage showing two Armenian helicopters flying in sequence, with Azerbaijani soldiers firing a missile at one of them. The video shows the Armenian helicopters moving along the border in a straight line, without attacking, firing, or taking evasive action. This footage contradicted the Azerbaijani Ministry of Defense’s claim that the helicopter was downed during an attack on Azerbaijani positions.
In the days following the attack, Azerbaijani forces shelled the area, hindering efforts to retrieve the bodies of the fallen crew members.
On November 22, the Artsakh Defense Army reported that a special forces operation successfully recovered the body of one crew member, partial remains of the other two, and parts of the helicopter, including the black boxes. The operation resulted in two Azerbaijani casualties.
