Vitaly Balasanyan left Karabakh via mountain trails – media

Former Karabakh field commander Vitaly Balasanyan managed to leave Karabakh through mountain trails. This happened a few days after the military operation of the Azerbaijani Armed Forces on 19-20 September 2023. This was reported by an Armenian telegram channel with reference to Balasanyan’s entourage.

According to the same source, Balasanyan left Khankiandi on 28 September. Immediately after that he was informed that the Azerbaijani side had learnt about it and they were waiting for him at the Lachin border post. After that Balasanyan got out of the car and walked along mountain paths and reached Armenia in the first decade of October.

In Armenia, Balasanyan was interrogated by law enforcement agencies to find out how he was released by the Azerbaijanis. In addition, he was demanded not to participate in political processes against Nikol Pashinyan. That is why Balasanyan does not appear in the political field of Armenia, his entourage claims.

Recall that Vitaly Balasanyan is a war criminal involved in the massacre in Khojaly in February 1992.

In the following years, he held the post of “Deputy Minister of Defence of Karabakh” and took part in battles against the Azerbaijani Armed Forces, commanding Armenian units.