Armenian Ministry of Defense Representative Artsrun Hovhannisyan, at a press conference today, stated that Armenian military forces had not captured any Azerbaijani soldiers, thus denying earlier rumors that Azerbaijani General Mayis Barkhudarov had been taken prisoner.

Hovhannisyan confirmed reports that the Azerbaijani military had left scores of dead soldiers on the field in areas now controlled by the Artsakh Defense Army.

Hovhannisyan said that Azerbaijani forces had recently shelled the northern Artsakh town of Martakert and that other residential settlements are now being targeted.

Hovhannisyan urged friends and family of Armenian servicemen not to call them for security reasons and to avoid overloading the telephone lines.

The representative of the Ministry of Defense called on the citizens not to constantly call the servicemen, especially the ordinary personnel, for security reasons, and not to overload the channels.

"If they get in touch, it will endanger their lives. Drones, artillery reconnaissance, us these channels to target our servicemen. Please limit such actions as much as possible,” Hovhannisyan said.