In an interview with Azerbaijan newspaper, the minister of defense of the country told the details of their operation to capture Shushi city of Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabakh) during the war last year.

According to Zakir Hasanov, in late October, units of the Azerbaijani army, including special forces, began the operation to break through the defense of Shushi in different directions.

"According to the intelligence data, the Armenians were waiting for us in two directions. They were preparing for fierce battles from Qirmizi Bazar [(Karmir Shuka)] to Shushakend [(Shosh )] [villages], from there along the road to Shusha [(Shushi)], and in the direction of Lachin. That was the reason why we concentrated our main forces there.

According to the operative plan of the Azerbaijani military command, we paved a new road to Shusha through dense forests. Our heroic engineering-sapper troops have done an incredible job of launching this road. They have turned the narrow mountain path into a forest road through which equipment can pass. This road was really a shock for the Armenians. As a result, we managed to deploy artillery installations near Shusha," Hasanov said.

The Armenian fortress city of Shushi has been occupied by Azerbaijan since November 8, 2020.