Movses Hakobyan: I was Removed from Artsakh for Opposing Lele-Tepe Operation

• 03.23.2021, 19:01
•  World,  Armenia,  NKR

Iskander missiles were factually used during the recent Artsakh war, and only Azerbaijan can reveal the damages caused by it, the former chief of the Armenian army’s General Staff, Colonel-General Movses Hakobyan told a news conference on Tuesday, Panorama.am reports.

He said the area hit by Iskander is not well visible from a distance and it was cloudy on the day it was used, thus only the enemy can speak about the damages caused by the missies.

“And I know that we did not regain control of the territory which was targeted by Iskander missiles, so we cannot talk about the consequences. And my claim that only Azerbaijan can provide information on the damages is conditioned by it,” Hakobyan noted.

The former army chief claimed he was removed from Artsakh during the hostilities for opposing the Lele-Tepe operation, adding the authorities tried to plan several similar operations, but he prevented them.

"They tried to carry out a number of such adventures, but I prevented them as much as I could and the command staff obeyed me. Just one day after taking me out, that operation was planned, the country’s leader visited there to verbally approve the plan and they launched it. As a result, we lost all our reserve, with no possibility to defend the southern gate. I think this operation needs to be subjected to an investigation as it was carried out contrary to the tactics of martial arts and was doomed to failure from the very beginning," he stated.

Movses Hakobyan stated that Azerbaijan was seriously prepared for the war, but in the first three days of the war, when the defense of Artsakh was not yet broken, the enemy's attacks had to be suppressed to prevent it from making a breakthrough.

"The heroism of our soldiers proves that the army was able to resist such a huge force. The enemy tanks were successfully destroyed, and for a while it limited the use of tanks, as most of them were burned on the battlefield. The enemy had a great advantage in the air. We could hardly fight against the UAVs. That’s why the enemy managed to advance through some areas. Our omissions started from that point," Hakobyan said.