Armenian Soldiers Killed by Azerbaijani Fire in Biggest Skirmish since Exodus

Ethnic Armenians flee Karabakh for Armenia sitting in a truck at the Lachin checkpoint controlled by Russian peacekeepers and Azeri border guards, Azerbaijan, 26 September 2023. EPA/ROMAN ISMAYILOV
Ethnic Armenians flee Karabakh for Armenia sitting in a truck at the Lachin checkpoint controlled by Russian peacekeepers and Azeri border guards, Azerbaijan, 26 September 2023. EPA/ROMAN ISMAYILOV
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Armenian Soldiers Killed by Azerbaijani Fire in Biggest Skirmish since Exodus

Ethnic Armenians flee Karabakh for Armenia sitting in a truck at the Lachin checkpoint controlled by Russian peacekeepers and Azeri border guards, Azerbaijan, 26 September 2023. EPA/ROMAN ISMAYILOV
Ethnic Armenians flee Karabakh for Armenia sitting in a truck at the Lachin checkpoint controlled by Russian peacekeepers and Azeri border guards, Azerbaijan, 26 September 2023. EPA/ROMAN ISMAYILOV

Armenia said on Tuesday that four of its soldiers were killed by Azerbaijani fire along the two countries' heavily militarized border, the first fatal incident since they began negotiating a deal to end more than 30 years of intermittent war last year.
Fatal exchanges have been common along the closed, roughly 1,000 km (620 mile) frontier since 1988 when Christian Armenia and mostly Muslim Azerbaijan first went to war over the breakaway region of Nagorno-Karabakh, but the situation had calmed amid peace talks in recent months, Reuters said.
Tuesday's incident was the biggest since hundreds died when Azerbaijan retook Karabakh in September, prompting an exodus of the region's ethnic Armenian population.
Armenia's Defense Ministry said in a statement that the four soldiers were killed and another wounded at a combat post near the southern Armenian village of Nerkin Hand.
Azerbaijan's Foreign Ministry said in a statement that its attack on the Armenian position had been in retaliation for an Armenian "provocation" the previous day that it said wounded one of Baku's soldiers in the area.
Baku said it had no intention of further escalation.
"Azerbaijan is committed to the peace process, and calls on the Armenian side to refrain from military escalations that would jeopardize the efforts to that end," it said.
Azerbaijan's Defence Ministry said earlier that Armenian forces on Monday evening fired at Baku's positions near Nerkin Hand, and at another point along the border, around 400 km (250 miles) to the north. It said one Azerbaijani serviceman had been wounded in the first incident.
Armenia said it was investigating the Nerkin Hand shooting, and denied the incident Baku reported further north.
In a statement, Armenia's Foreign Ministry said that Azerbaijan had been looking for a "pretext" to attack Armenia, and accused Baku of deliberately jeopardizing the peace process.
"The Azerbaijani leadership is consistently trying to thwart the efforts of actors interested in the stability and security of the South Caucasus to resume negotiations aimed at resolving relations between Armenia and Azerbaijan," it said.
PEACE TALKS STAGNATE
The Kremlin, which is formally allied to Armenia but also has close ties with Azerbaijan, called for restraint on both sides. A Russian peacekeeping contingent remains in Karabakh and its border guards help patrol Armenia's frontiers.
EU foreign affairs chief Josep Borrell said during a press conference with Armenian Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan in Brussels that Armenia's shooting of an Azerbaijani soldier was "deplorable", but called Azerbaijan's response "disproportionate".
The EU's relations with Azerbaijan have sharply deteriorated since September, as Armenia has deepened ties with the bloc.
The Nagorno-Karabakh region of Azerbaijan had a mostly ethnic Armenian population which won de facto independence after a lengthy war during the collapse of the Soviet Union.
But Azerbaijan in September retook Karabakh in a lightning offensive, prompting a rapid exodus of almost all of the territory's ethnic Armenian population of more than 100,000, and a renewed push from both sides for a deal to end the conflict.
Both Armenia and Azerbaijan have said they want to sign a peace treaty, but disagree over issues including precise demarcation of their border and control over several small territorial enclaves.
Azerbaijan also wants a customs-free transport corridor through Armenian territory, connecting Azerbaijan's mainland with its Nakhichevan exclave. Armenia has said it must retain control over any transport links on its soil.
Talks have in recent months appeared to stagnate, with both sides accusing the other of sabotaging the diplomatic process.



Ukraine Seeks Air Defense Systems as Western Backers Meet without the Pentagon Chief

(L-R) Supreme Allied Commander Europe SACEUR General Christopher G. Cavoli, NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte, British Chief of the Defense Staff Admiral Sir Tony Radakin, British Secretary of State for Defense John Healey, Defense Minister of Ukraine Rustem Umerov, German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius and Ukrainian Brigadier General Volodymyr Horbatiuk attend a meeting of the Ukraine Defense Contact Group ahead of a North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) defense ministers meeting at the NATO headquarters in Brussels, Belgium, 04 June 2025. (EPA)
(L-R) Supreme Allied Commander Europe SACEUR General Christopher G. Cavoli, NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte, British Chief of the Defense Staff Admiral Sir Tony Radakin, British Secretary of State for Defense John Healey, Defense Minister of Ukraine Rustem Umerov, German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius and Ukrainian Brigadier General Volodymyr Horbatiuk attend a meeting of the Ukraine Defense Contact Group ahead of a North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) defense ministers meeting at the NATO headquarters in Brussels, Belgium, 04 June 2025. (EPA)
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Ukraine Seeks Air Defense Systems as Western Backers Meet without the Pentagon Chief

(L-R) Supreme Allied Commander Europe SACEUR General Christopher G. Cavoli, NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte, British Chief of the Defense Staff Admiral Sir Tony Radakin, British Secretary of State for Defense John Healey, Defense Minister of Ukraine Rustem Umerov, German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius and Ukrainian Brigadier General Volodymyr Horbatiuk attend a meeting of the Ukraine Defense Contact Group ahead of a North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) defense ministers meeting at the NATO headquarters in Brussels, Belgium, 04 June 2025. (EPA)
(L-R) Supreme Allied Commander Europe SACEUR General Christopher G. Cavoli, NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte, British Chief of the Defense Staff Admiral Sir Tony Radakin, British Secretary of State for Defense John Healey, Defense Minister of Ukraine Rustem Umerov, German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius and Ukrainian Brigadier General Volodymyr Horbatiuk attend a meeting of the Ukraine Defense Contact Group ahead of a North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) defense ministers meeting at the NATO headquarters in Brussels, Belgium, 04 June 2025. (EPA)

Ukraine’s president on Wednesday urged Western backers to speed up deliveries of air defense systems to counter Russian missile strikes and to help boost weapons production.

The emphasis should be on US-made Patriot systems, President Volodymyr Zelenskky told a Ukraine Defense Contact Group meeting at NATO headquarters in Brussels.

"These are the most effective way to force Russia to stop its missile strikes and terror," he said via video link, urging representatives of around 50 countries to make good on past pledges.

US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth did not attend, the first time a Pentagon chief has been absent since the forum for organizing Ukraine's military aid was set up three years ago. Hegseth’s predecessor, Lloyd Austin, created the group after Russia launched all-out war on Ukraine in 2022.

His absence is the latest step that the Trump administration has taken to distance itself from Ukraine’s efforts to repel Russia’s full-scale invasion, which began on Feb. 24, 2022. More than 12,000 Ukrainian civilians have been killed, according to UN estimates, as well as tens of thousands of soldiers on both sides.

Zelenskyy also appealed to the participants to buy weapons direct from Ukraine. "Ukrainian industry still has significant untapped capacity, it just needs financing," he said, underlining that a funding gap for weapons procurement amounts to about $18 billion.

The UK, which chaired the meeting along with Germany, said it plans a tenfold increase in drone production to help Ukraine. Drones have become a decisive factor in the war, now in its fourth year.

"We must ensure that Ukraine’s forces have what they need, when they need it, to continue their fight. But this is not just Ukraine’s battle. It’s a battle for the security of Europe, for our security today, tomorrow, and for our future generations," UK Defense Secretary John Healey said.

Lithuanian Defense Minister Dovile Sakaliene said that "you recognize true friends not during a party, but when you do have difficult times. So therefore, our continuation of support for Ukraine and increasing it is of utmost importance."

Since the contact group was formed, Ukraine’s backers have collectively provided around $126 billion in weapons and military assistance, including more than $66.5 billion from the US.

The United States hasn't chaired a meeting of the Ukraine Defense Contact Group since the Trump administration took office in January.

European NATO allies are concerned that the US might withdraw troops from Europe to focus on the Indo-Pacific. French President Emmanuel Macron has warned that abandoning Ukraine would erode US credibility in deterring any conflict with China over Taiwan.