It Is Impossible to Reach Stepanakert from Hadrut in 20 Minutes: Following Artur Khoyan’s Statement

Days ago, responding to journalists' questions in the National Assembly, Artur Khoyan made several claims, yet perhaps the most discussed of his statements became whether he said 'we are winning' or simply stated 'we will win,' reports Armdaily.am.

Another notable statement from Artur Khoyan is that when a journalist mentioned an incident where he allegedly was at the Stepanakert press center and said, 'I am currently in Hadrut, but there is no Azerbaijani here,' Khoyan responded, 'Isn't it clear that I was in Hadrut with my phone off, reached Fizuli, and arrived in Stepanakert and provided information from Hadrut 20 minutes later.'

This statement is at least puzzling, as Khoyan could not have reached Stepanakert from Hadrut in 20 minutes.

How far is it from Hadrut to Stepanakert?

There are two routes from Hadrut to Stepanakert: Hadrut-Karmir Shuka-Stepanakert, which is 72 km long and can be traveled in approximately 1 hour and 43 minutes according to various programs, and Hadrut-Fizuli-Martuni-Stepanakert, which is 92 km long and takes about 2 hours and 9 minutes.

Fizuli to Stepanakert distance:

From Khoyan’s statement, it was difficult to understand whether he meant that he reached Stepanakert in 20 minutes from Hadrut or from Fizuli, but it also requires several times more time to reach Stepanakert from Fizuli than the time mentioned by Khoyan.

There are two routes to reach Stepanakert from Fizuli: Fizuli-Jivani-Karmir Shuka-Shosh-Stepanakert, which is 59 km long and can be traversed in about 1 hour and 26 minutes, and Fizuli-Martuni-Stepanakert, which is 70 km long and takes about 1 hour and 38 minutes.

Considering the intensity and scale of military operations, it is assumed that Khoyan did not use a helicopter and traveled by land along one of the routes mentioned. In this case, claiming that he traversed the said route in 20 minutes is unrealistic, or if he took the shortest route, the vehicle he was in would have had to travel at an average speed of 240 km/h.