On November 12, 2014, Azerbaijani forces shot down an Artsakh Defense Army Mi-24 attack helicopter during a training flight, killing three Armenian servicemen. The attack marked one of the most serious escalations along the Artsakh-Azerbaijan contact line since the 1994 ceasefire.
At approximately 1:45 p.m., Azerbaijani forces fired a missile at the helicopter as it participated in the “Unity-2014” joint operational-tactical military exercises conducted by the armed forces of Armenia and Artsakh. The aircraft exploded and crashed near Artsakh’s defensive positions.
The three servicemen killed were Major Sergey Sahakyan, Senior Lieutenant Sarkis Nazaryan, and Lieutenant Azat Sahakyan.
Azerbaijan’s Ministry of Defense claimed that the helicopter had attempted to attack Azerbaijani military positions. However, footage released by Azerbaijani media the following day showed two Armenian helicopters flying along the contact line without firing weapons or visibly engaging in an attack before one was struck by a missile.
Rather than allowing the immediate recovery of the fallen servicemen, Azerbaijani forces continued firing toward the crash site, preventing Armenian rescue teams from approaching the wreckage.
The obstruction continued for days, despite international efforts to secure humanitarian access.
On November 19, the OSCE Minsk Group co-chairs, representing Russia, France, and the United States, expressed serious concern over the lack of access to the crash site, which was located in a heavily mined area between opposing positions. They specifically called on Azerbaijan to permit the recovery of the crew’s bodies.
Armenia’s delegation to the OSCE subsequently reported that Azerbaijan had rejected attempts to involve the International Committee of the Red Cross and the OSCE Chairperson-in-Office’s Personal Representative in recovering the remains and inspecting the site.
The Armenian delegation accused Azerbaijan of violating international humanitarian law, citing the Geneva Convention’s requirements concerning the search for and recovery of the dead.
With diplomatic and humanitarian efforts failing to secure access, the Artsakh Defense Army launched a special forces operation to recover the fallen servicemen.
On November 22, the Defense Army announced that its forces had successfully retrieved the body of one crew member, the partial remains of the other two, and strategically important helicopter components.
According to the Defense Army, two Azerbaijani servicemen were killed during the operation, while Armenian forces suffered no casualties. The military later clarified that the operation had taken place before November 21, although its successful completion was publicly announced on November 22.
Artsakh Defense Army commander Movses Hakobyan explained that Azerbaijani forces had repeatedly prevented access to the site and had themselves attempted to retrieve the bodies, leaving the Armenian side with no alternative but a military operation.
The three fallen servicemen were posthumously awarded the Medal for Courage by Artsakh President Bako Sahakyan on November 22, 2014.
The downing of the helicopter was the first incident of its kind since the 1994 ceasefire, according to the OSCE Minsk Group. It demonstrated both the fragility of the ceasefire and the danger facing Armenian servicemen along the contact line.
Twelve years later, the attack remains a reminder of Azerbaijan’s use of military force against Artsakh and the extraordinary operation undertaken to bring the fallen Armenian servicemen home.
Today, we honor the memory of Major Sergey Sahakyan, Senior Lieutenant Sarkis Nazaryan, and Lieutenant Azat Sahakyan, who lost their lives on November 12, 2014.
