18+ VIDEO: Did the Air Defense System Fail? Auroranews Attempts to Clarify Details

Armenian soldiers fought against enemy-launched UAVs with their attached rifles. The SisMasis Telegram channel has published a video under this title.

It should be noted that on January 11, the Ministry of Defense stated that Azerbaijan was using artillery and unmanned aerial vehicles against Armenian positions. However, there was no mention of the use of our air defense systems in that same statement.

"On January 11, around 5:30 PM, Azerbaijani armed forces resumed fire towards Armenian positions located in the eastern direction of the Armenian-Azerbaijani border, using artillery and unmanned aerial vehicles as well. The Armenian side took adequate actions," the Ministry of Defense's statement read.

The brother of the conscripted soldier Vahan Babayan, who was killed following this provocation, stated: "The guys who were with him say that my brother died from a drone strike."

Auroranews has sent a written inquiry to Armenian Minister of Defense Suren Papikyan to clarify the details.

The inquiry specifically mentions: "After the provocation carried out by Azerbaijani forces in the eastern direction of the Armenian-Azerbaijani border on January 11, we had 3 casualties. The statement issued by the Ministry of Defense mentioned that Azerbaijan is employing UAVs and artillery against Armenian positions. Did the air defense system operate during the use of UAVs, and if not, why? Are the claims true that Armenian soldiers fought against the enemy's UAVs with their attached rifles? The next question concerns conscript soldier Norik Mkrtchyan. The soldier's relatives and lawyer report that for about 8 months neither his mother nor his command has any information about his whereabouts.

We request to clarify what stage the search operations for the soldier are at and how he left his place of service. Also, we note that our previous inquiry sent to the MoD was about 3 months ago, and your organization has not responded, violating the law. We request clarification on the reasons behind the Ministry of Defense's irresponsible conduct.