- Situation at the border (16:00-20:00)
- During the hostilities, the Azerbaijani side targeted the Armenian border settlements and civilian infrastructure, using grenade launchers and heavy artillery equipment - "D-30 howitzers". Berd, Aygepar, Nerkin Karmraghbyur, Movses, Chinari and other border communities were shelled. Residential houses, civic infrastructure, orchards and trees were damaged.
- The renovated kindergarten of Aygepar village of Tavush region was destroyed by the enemy's shelling. The mayor of Yerevan Hayk Marutyan announced that the kindergarten will be renovated with the community funds of Yerevan.
- Unexploded ordnance was found in Chinari community after the enemy artillery shelling.
- The residents of the shelled communities did not leave their homes. They refuged in shelters and basements.
- Tavush regional governor Hayk Chobanyan announced that from July 17 the damaged houses will be repaired, also new ones will be built. A commission to assess the damage of shelled settlements has been set up.
- The civil defense servicemen are in Tavush region. The employees of the Ministry of Emergency Situations ensure the security of the residents of the bombed villages, eliminate fires and destructions.
- The ATS of the Azerbaijani Armed Forces hit the car of the Ministry of Emergency Situations of Armenia. There have been no victims.
- The ombudsman of the Republic of Armenia has submitted two reports to the international structures, the UN Human Rights Council, regarding the shelling of border communities, civilian population and infrastructure in Tavush, which will be examined on an emergency procedure.
- With the permission of the Armenian side, the Azeris evacuated the bodies of their victims from the intermediate area.
- 47-year-old Aramayis Hovakimyan, a resident of Chinari village, was wounded by the enemy drone. He has a burn of about 10% of the body surface, multiple fractures of the thigh-bone. The doctors initially assess his condition as severe-stable.
- The NSS is undertaking measures to return the citizen of Armenian captured in Azerbaijan. It turned out that Narek Sardaryan got lost while searching for the lost animals and entered into the territory of Nakhichevan, Azerbaijan.
- Azerbaijan threatens Armenia with nuclear terrorism. The head of the press service of the Ministry of Defense of Azerbaijan Vagif Dargyakhli stated that the Metsamor NPP may be hit. This is not the first time that Azerbaijan is making such terrorist statements.
Political response
- Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan attended the funeral of Major Garush Hambardzumyan in the Yerablur military pantheon, who was killed by enemy fire in the north-eastern part of the Armenian-Azerbaijani border. In his speech, the head of the government noted that it is necessary to stand firm on this land, because at this moment our hero brothers stand firmly on the land of Tavush. On the battlefield, while defending the homeland, they speak on behalf of the heroes of Sardarapat, the heroes of the Artsakh liberation war, the heroes of the April war, they inspire pride and confidence in all of us.
- The deputies of the National Assembly referred to the Armenian-Azerbaijani border tension. "My Step" fraction MP Mkhitar Hayrapetyan noted that the President of Azerbaijan was dissatisfied with the work of Azerbaijani diplomatic representatives. The deputy emphasized that this means that the RA Ministry of Foreign Affairs and NA have done a brilliant and effective work on parliamentary diplomacy.
- "As the chairman of the Armenia-Cyprus interparliamentary commission, the head of the Armenia-Greece friendship group, I can say that the Armenian diplomatic housing, the communities, the Armenian Church, the Armenian National Committee have unanimously supported both me and our colleagues. "I want to thank Greece for its support of the Armenian people. The results are obvious," said Mkhitar Hayrapetyan.
- Rustam Bakoyan, a member of the "My Step" parliamentary fraction, a representative of the Yezidi community, stated that dozens of Yezidis living in Armenia are ready to leave for the border.
- NA Speaker Ararat Mirzoyan stated that Azerbaijan's actions are nothing but obvious, flashy violations of all international conventions.
International news
- Russian Vice-Foreign Minister Andrei Rudenko stated that Moscow will use all opportunities to settle the escalation between Armenia and Azerbaijan. He assured that they will show all the best qualities of Russian diplomacy in order not only to settle the current border conflict, but also to improve the relations between Armenia and Azerbaijan.
- "Russia possesses such qualities, we have already used them also during the recent outbreak of hostilities in Nagorno-Karabakh in 2017. "I am confident that we will do our best," he said in an interview with TASS.
- The President of Azerbaijan dismissed Elmar Mammadyarov from the position of the Minister of Foreign Affairs. On July 15, the President of Azerbaijan strongly criticized Mammadyarov for not being able to find him when the border situation escalated. 47-year-old Jeyhun Bayramov has been appointed as the new Minister of Foreign Affairs. Prior to that, he held the post of The Minister of Education.
- US Congresswoman Judy Chu said that Azerbaijan's continued violence against Armenia must end.
Manipulative
- Azerbaijani propaganda website haqqin.az spread misinformation that Narek Petrosyan, born in 2000, died in the border area of Tavush. The website posted a photo of him in a military uniform. Narek Petrosyan responded to the fake information, noting that he learned the news about his "death" from the Internet. At first, he was surprised, angry, then he realized that it was another Azerbaijani misinformation.
- Azerbaijan has spread false information that the X-55 ATS belonging to the Armenian Armed Forces was hit. The spokeswoman of RA Ministry of Defense Shushan Stepanyan stated that the enemy did not hit such an ATS, as there is no such ATS in the arsenal of the RA Armed Forces.
- Some Russian-Azerbaijani websites spread rumors about the damaged "Elbit Hermes 900 ATS" that was not an Azerbaijani ATS in the video, but a civilian plane. The "Information Verification Center" informs that the spread information is not true. The Armenian Armed Forces hit an Israeli-made Elbit Hermes 900 drone.
- Various users on social networks spread calls for volunteer recruitment. The "Information Verification Center" urges neither to trust nor to spread such appeals, as they either spontaneous or made by Azeris from hacked Armenian accounts. The RA Ministry of Defense called on to neither travel to Tavush with volunteer groups nor organize group-car rides.
- A fake Facebook account was created in the name of Shushan Stepanyan, the spokeswoman of the RA Ministry of Defense, which spread misinformation. In order to detect the fraud, one should pay attention to the absence of a "verified" identifier.
- A video has been shared on the Internet, where the soldiers allegedly complain about the situation at the border, talk about a large number of human losses. In fact, this is a planned provocation of the enemy to spread panic among the citizens of the Republic of Armenia.
Media coverage
- The enemy shelled the village of Aygepar.
- The resident of Aygepar about the shelling of the kindergarten.
- Aygepar kindergarten a week ago and today (photos).
- The Azerbaijani shelling damaged the bakery in the village of Chinari and the house next to it.
- The Armenian units attacked the enemy tanks, artillery shells and firing positions, from which they kept our settlements and positions under attack.
- With the permission of the Armenian side, the Azeris are evacuating the bodies of their victims from the intermediate area.
- The Prime Minister visited the wounded soldiers.
