Almost immediately after the end of the 44-day war in 2020, Azerbaijan launched two major road construction projects in the occupied territories of Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabakh), and aimed at creating highways and infrastructure leading to Shushi city, writes monumentwatch.org which monitors Artsakh's cultural heritage. It added as follows:
The first of these roads also has an ideological meaning for the Azerbaijani side. It is not accidental that it has been called "Victory Road" because, according to the Azerbaijani side, it repeats the road paved by the Azerbaijani army, special forces to "liberate" Shushi. On the way, this name was given by Azerbaijani president Ilham Aliyev, and it groundbreaking was held on November 16, 2020. It will be a new road directly connecting Baku with Shushi, and which, according to the Azerbaijani side, will bypass the territories under the control of Russian peacekeepers and Armenians (lenta.ru).
According to the information spread by the Azerbaijani news websites, "Victory Road" shall connect the Fizuli region with Shushi, the regional capital of Fizuli. Its length will be 101.5 km. It will pass through 20 settlements, including Togh, Mets Tagher, Avetaranots, Sghnakh, and Karin Tak, the names of which are simply mentioned in the news videos about the road.
Simultaneously with the construction of this road, the Azerbaijani side is constructing another large Fizuli-Shushi road which in some places will intersect with "Victory Road." The first road will have two lanes and the second will have six lanes. The construction of these roads is carried out by Azerbaijani and Turkish road construction companies, of which the Azerbaijani ones operate under the Azerbaijani state bodies, and the Turkish ones have extensive experience in complex road construction. Such are Azvirt, "KOLİN" İnşaat Turizm San. and some other organizations.
These two road construction projects pose a great danger to the monuments in the Azerbaijani-occupied territories of Artsakh, as the Azerbaijani side is carrying out enormous land changes and, in particular, changes in the surrounding landscape and relief—and based on the plan of the roads to be built. In particular, a large number of trees are being cut down, large-scale leveling and widening works as well as blasts are being carried out, and all buildings and structures obstructing the road are being demolished or there is a danger to them. It should be noted here that all the monuments around or near which the Azerbaijani side carries out road construction or other works are in such danger.
The Tukhnakal mansion not far from the village of Moshkhmhat, the sanctuary of Sister Heghine, the St. Astvatsatsin Church and the cemetery of Madatashen village, as well as the old bridge of Avetaranots village, and the Tahis built on the Ishkhanaget river bridge near Mets Tagher village, etc. are endangered in this way. The Azokh village memorial to the victims of the Great Patriotic War, the Armenian Genocide, and the Artsakh liberation war was also destroyed.
Large underground tunnels are being built in the Sghnakh village section. The destruction of the cemetery of Sghnakh village is a fresh result of the elimination of such a "barrier" to road construction. The areas of the large northwestern cemetery of Mets Tagher village and "Makun" Bridge have been destroyed and leveled.
According to Azerbaijani official sources, "Victory Road" will be the first to be put into operation—and this will be in the fall.