Russian President Vladimir Putin named the dead crew members of the Mi-24 helicopter, which was shot down by the Azerbaijani military over Armenian territory.
"As you know, yesterday two of our comrades, pilots on duty at Russia’s military base in Armenia, were killed in a tragic incident. Major Yury Ishchuk, who commanded the crew, and First Lieutenant Roman Fedin," Putin said on Tuesday at a meeting with senior Defence Ministry officials, heads of federal agencies and defense industry executives.
" The systems operator, navigator-pilot also suffered injuries in the crash. We wish him a speedy recovery," the head of state added.
The meeting participants held a moment of silence to honor their memory.
On the eve, a Russian Mi-24 was shot down in the airspace above the territory of Armenia from man-portable air defense systems outside the combat zone. Two crew members were killed and one was evacuated with injuries. The Azerbaijani side admitted that the Russian helicopter was shot down accidentally, apologized and expressed readiness to pay compensation to Russia.
The Prosecutor General's Office of Azerbaijan instituted a criminal case under the article "Negligence towards service that resulted in the death of two or more people due to negligence, which took place in wartime and in combat conditions".
The incident with the Russian helicopter took place against the background of an aggravation of the situation in Nagorno-Karabakh. A few hours later Baku, Yerevan and Moscow signed the fourth de-escalation document in a month and a half. It said that the sides were stopping the fighting, stopping at occupied positions and exchanging prisoners. Armenia must return the Kelbajar, Lachin and Agdam districts to Baku. Russian peacekeepers will also be stationed in Karabakh.
GSV "Russia - Islamic World"
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Based on materials from RIA Novosti