Former commander of Artsakh Armed Forces Mikael Arzumanyan was arrested on Aug. 30
Lieutenant General Mikael Arzumanyan, the former commander of the Artsakh Armed Forces during the latter days of the 2020 War, was arrested and charged with negligence and dereliction of his duties in defending Shushi, Armenia’s National Investigative Services reported on Tuesday.
The charges, detailed in a lengthy document released by the NIS, essentially blames Arzumanyan for the fall of Shushi during the 44-Day War. He was accused of not following through on his own military plans laid out from October 30 to November 9, 2020, when the military actions ended in Artsakh as a result of the now infamous agreement signed by the leaders of Armenia, Azerbaijan, and Russia.
Arzumanyan was appointed as commander of Artsakh Armed Forces on October 27, 2020 after then Artsakh defense minister and Arzumanyan’s predecessor General Jalal Harutyunyan was severely wounded during combat operations.
The document alleges that Arzumanyan, during the Azerbaijani aggression against Artsakh, under the rule of marshal law, from October 30 to November 9, 2020, was negligent “toward his official duties by not fulfilling and by improperly performing them. Those actions inadvertently caused serious consequences: the armed forces of the enemy took the city of Shushi and its suburbs under their control.”
“Lieutenant-General M.A.[Mikael Arzumanyan], bearing personal responsibility for the preparation and readiness of subordinate troops, their deployment, as well as the successful performance of the tasks assigned to the troops (forces), during the organization of the defense operation of the city of Shushi and adjacent regions from October 30, 2020 did not ensure the effective use of the combat capabilities of the troops (forces) and the successful completion of the assigned tasks within the specified time limits; did not monitor the implementation of the assigned tasks and did not provide the necessary assistance; did not show strength and determination in the implementation of the decisions made; did not respond promptly and flexibly to changes in the created situation; and did not guarantee the stable use of troops and its command,” the charges allege.
Specifically, the document alleged, that Arzumanyan, despite signing a combat order, did not deploy the needed troops to areas that were not guarded within the defense perimeter of regions adjacent to Shushi. It is also being noted that he failed use a battalion manned by 365 soldiers to effectively guard the region.
“Additionally, the Shushi defense operation did not use two separate motorized rifle regiments ready to engage in combat operations as of October 15, 2020, each consisting of 250 soldiers, and as of October 20, units of about 150 soldiers, that is, a total of 650 regular soldiers,” said the the Investigative Service.
The arresting authorities told press outlets that the warrant for Arzumanyan’s arrest, as well as the charges, stemmed from a long and extensive investigation that has been underway since the end of the 44-day war, involving various branches of the investigative service, as well as the military.