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By Brendan Cole
Senior Reporter
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A Russian navy commander has been killed during hostilities in the breakaway region of Nagorno-Karabakh which Azerbaijan has vowed to bring under full control, it has been reported.
Baku launched what it called an "anti-terror" operation on Tuesday in the enclave recognized internationally as part of Azerbaijan that has an Armenian-majority population.
Baku demanded Karabakh's forces dissolve their "illegal regime," and with no means of support from neighboring Armenia, and a nine-month blockade into the territory, the ethnic Armenians surrendered.
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Following a day of explosions and shelling, Armenian officials reported that at least 32 people have died, although some estimates have put the death toll at more than 200.
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Without naming the dead, Russia's Defense Ministry said one of its vehicles had come under small-arms fire near a Karabakh village called Janyatag in Azeri and Chankatagh in Armenian. Rybar, a pro-war Telegram channel with reported links to Russia's military, said two Russian soldiers were inside the vehicle when it was hit.
Armenian outlets and the St. Petersburg Club of Submariners and Navy Veterans said among the dead was the deputy commander of the Northern Fleet submarine forces, Ivan Kovgan. Newsweek has emailed Russia's defense ministry for comment.
Northern Fleet officer Andrei Luzik paid tribute to Kovgan, who was about to turn 51 on Saturday. "He was a naval sailor, but fate led him to the mountains, where a treacherous bullet claimed his life. May Ivan Vasilievich's memory be honored. He dedicated his all to his service and his Motherland, and alas, life itself," he said, according to Armenian news site News.am.
While not a member of NATO, Azerbaijan has close ties with alliance member Turkey and has been a partner with the bloc since 1992, after the break-up of the USSR.
It seems unlikely that the death of the commander will provoke the anger of Moscow, which said that Azerbaijan President Ilham Aliyev had apologized. The Kremlin said in a statement that there would be an investigation into what happened and "those responsible will receive due punishment."
Russia sent peacekeepers to Nagorno-Karabakh in 2020 during a six-week war in which Baku recaptured parts of the breakaway region. On the day of a ceasefire, an Azerbaijani anti-air missile shot down a Russian Mi-24 helicopter gunship, killing two crewmen.
Armenian officials have accused Azerbaijan of opening fire on troops on the border between the two countries after the ceasefire was struck, which Baku has denied. Meanwhile, protesters in Yerevan, the Armenian capital, demanded the resignation of Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan for his handling of the crisis.
Update 09/21/23, 8:30 a.m. ET: This article has been updated with further information.
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