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Seda Ghukasyan

Former Top Armenian Military Official Claims Recent Armament Purchases Were Mismanaged

A former top Armenian military official today stated that some of the weapons purchased by the Armenian Armed forces, designed to modernize the military, were never used in the recently concluded war in Artsakh.

At a press conference today in Yerevan, Colonel-General Movses Hakobyan, the former Chief of the General Staff of the RA Armed Forces and former Artsakh Minister of Defense, said that following the April 2016 “Four Day War”, Armenia’s military-political leadership decided to acquire weapons that would meet the challenges of the time.

He said that Smerch heavy multiple rocket launcher systems, and Tor, Igla-S and Verba anti-aircraft missile systems were purchased.

"These are the weapons that were used in this war," Hakobyan said. “A part of the Tor weaponry was purchased in 2018, also a large number of grenade launchers, artillery missiles, which were planned for 2017. Two more divisions of Tor were to be acquired in 2018, and a ten percent down payment was made. There was also one division Smerch with its combat staff. Our Iskander system should have been improved, but the current plan was changed. Su-30 combat fighters, Osa’s and ZU-23-2 anti-aircraft systems were acquired. If you ask how many of them were fired, the answer is none of them," said Hakobyan.

(The Iskander is a mobile short-range ballistic missile system produced by Russia. The 9K33 Osa is a highly mobile, low altitude shortrange tactical surface to air missile system developed in the Soviet Union in the 1960s and deployed in 1972. The ZU-23-s is a Soviet towed 23mmanti-aircraft twin-barreled autocannon – Hetq)

Hakobyan said these weapons were purchased since the military-political leadership of Armenia lacked the concept of modern warfare.

Hakobyan said he advised the government to purchase Tor systems instead of Osa systems because the latter are no longer produced, and problems would surface if they weren’t operational.

 He said most of the Azerbaijani drones were hit with Igla and Tor weaponry.

When asked if Armenian forces employed Iskander missile systems during the war, Hakobyan said some had been fired but he didn’t know the details.

Hakobyan also chided Armenian Minister of Defense Davit Tonoyan for not procuring adequate weapons reserves prior to the war. Days ago, Tonoyan alleged that Armenia faced a weapons blockade during the war.

“The defense minister must understand that resources for the war should be in our warehouses, not in another country,” Hakobyan said.

Hakobyan emphasized that the defense ministry didn’t play any role in the supply process and that the supplies were made during the war by the efforts of Armenia’s strategic partner Russia.

Hakobyan alleged that as of September 30, Armenian PM Nikol Pashinyan hadn’t asked Russian President Putin for help, and Russia did what it did out of goodwill.

"Russia provided the maximum it could have. We should be grateful. It gave us that which we could only dream about," he said.

(Movses Hakobyan served as Artsakh Minister of Defense from May 2007 – June 2015 and Chief of the General Staff of the Armenian Armed Forces from October 2016 - May 2018. Yesterday, he resigned from the post of Head of the Military Control Service of the Armenian Ministry of Defense, which he headed since November 19, 2019.)

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