STEPANAKERT. – According to verified information, five contract servicemen of the Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabakh) Defense Army were wounded to varying degrees in the skirmish Thursday night provoked by the units of the Azerbaijani armed forces.

These soldiers’ injuries are not life-threatening, Armenian News-NEWS.am has learned from the statement which the Artsakh Defense Army released Friday.

Earlier, the Artsakh Ministry of Defense reported ( https://news.am/eng/news/693257.html ) that Azerbaijani army units, grossly violating the requirements of the November 10, 2020 tripartite statement, on Thursday burst into the responsibility zone of the Russian peacekeeping contingent in Artsakh, took control of the village of Parukh in the Askeran region and nearby positions, and then attempted to advance along the eastern boundary of Artsakh.

The talks that lasted for hours between the Russian peacekeeping contingent and the relevant bodies of Artsakh did not yield significant results, and the adversary did not return to its initial positions.

Moreover, on Thursday night, the Azerbaijani army units opened fire—using weapons and a combat drone—on the Artsakh Defense Army units.

As a result of the ensuing skirmish, the adversary has at least five military casualties, and there is one wounded soldier from the Armenian side.

As of 9am Friday, however, the situation is relatively stable.