This is the military history of the 2020s.
In the early 2020s, the pandemic of COVID-19 caused major global security concerns, as countries worked to address major security concerns and travel restrictions that were made necessary by the pandemic.
In late 2021, the Russian buildup of forces on its border with Ukraine caused major world concerns. [a]
On 24 February 2022, Russia invaded Ukraine in a major escalation of the Russo-Ukrainian War, which had started in 2014. The invasion, the largest and deadliest conflict in Europe since World War II, [9] [10] [11] has caused hundreds of thousands of military casualties and tens of thousands of Ukrainian civilian casualties. As of 2025, Russian troops occupy about 20% of Ukraine. From a population of 41 million, about 8 million Ukrainians had been internally displaced and more than 8.2 million had fled the country by April 2023, creating Europe's largest refugee crisis since World War II.
In late 2021, Russia massed troops near Ukraine's borders and issued demands to the West including a ban on Ukraine ever joining the NATO military alliance. [12] After repeatedly denying having plans to attack Ukraine, on 24 February 2022, Russian president Vladimir Putin announced a "special military operation", saying that it was to support the Russian-backed breakaway republics of Donetsk and Luhansk, whose paramilitary forces had been fighting Ukraine in the Donbas conflict since 2014. Putin espoused irredentist and imperialist views challenging Ukraine's legitimacy as a state, baselessly claimed that the Ukrainian government were neo-Nazis committing genocide against the Russian minority in the Donbas, and said that Russia's goal was to "demilitarise and denazify" Ukraine. [13] [14] [15] [16] Russian air strikes and a ground invasion were launched on a northern front from Belarus towards the capital Kyiv, a southern front from Crimea, and an eastern front from the Donbas and towards Kharkiv. Ukraine enacted martial law, ordered a general mobilisation and severed diplomatic relations with Russia.
Russian troops retreated from the north and the outskirts of Kyiv by April 2022, after encountering stiff resistance and logistical challenges. The Bucha massacre was uncovered after their withdrawal. In the southeast, Russia launched an offensive in the Donbas and captured Mariupol after a destructive siege. Russia continued to bomb military and civilian targets far from the front, and struck the energy grid through the winter months. In late 2022, Ukraine launched successful counteroffensives in the south and east, liberating most of Kharkiv Oblast. Soon after, Russia illegally annexed four partly-occupied provinces. In November, Ukraine liberated Kherson. In June 2023, Ukraine launched another counteroffensive in the southeast but made few gains. After small but steady Russian advances in the east in the first half of 2024, Ukraine launched a cross-border offensive into Russia's Kursk Oblast in August, where North Korean soldiers were sent to assist Russia. The United Nations Human Rights Office reports that Russia is committing severe human rights violations in occupied Ukraine.
The invasion was met with widespread international condemnation. The United Nations General Assembly passed a resolution condemning the invasion and demanding a full Russian withdrawal. The International Court of Justice ordered Russia to halt military operations, and the Council of Europe expelled Russia. Many countries imposed sanctions on Russia and its ally Belarus and provided humanitarian and military aid to Ukraine. The Baltic states and Poland declared Russia a terrorist state. Protests occurred around the world, with anti-war protesters in Russia being met by mass arrests and greater media censorship. The Russian attacks on civilians have led to allegations of genocide. [17] [18] [19] [20] War-related disruption to Ukrainian agriculture and shipping contributed to a world food crisis, while war-related environmental damage has been described as ecocide. The International Criminal Court (ICC) opened an investigation into crimes against humanity, war crimes, abduction of Ukrainian children, and genocide against Ukrainians. The ICC issued arrest warrants for Putin and Maria Lvova-Belova and for four Russian military officials.The 2020 Nagorno-Karabakh war [b] was an armed conflict between Azerbaijan, supported by Turkey, and the self-proclaimed Republic of Artsakh together with Armenia, in the disputed region of Nagorno-Karabakh. It was the latest escalation of an unresolved conflict over the region, which is internationally recognized as part of Azerbaijan, but partially governed by Artsakh, a breakaway state with an Armenian ethnic majority. [c]
Clashes began on the morning of 27 September 2020 along the Nagorno-Karabakh Line of Contact, which had been established in the aftermath of the First Nagorno-Karabakh war (1988–1994). In response to the clashes, Armenia and Artsakh introduced martial law and total mobilization, [29] [30] while Azerbaijan introduced martial law and a curfew, [31] later declaring partial mobilization on 28 September 2020. [32] Turkey provided military support to Azerbaijan, although the extent of this support has been disputed. [33] [34] Turkey's involvement is thought to have been an attempt to extend its sphere of influence, both by increasing the standing of Azerbaijan in the conflict and by marginalizing Russia's influence over the region. [33] [35]
Following the capture of Shusha, the second-largest settlement in Nagorno-Karabakh, a ceasefire agreement was signed between the President of Azerbaijan, Ilham Aliyev, the Prime Minister of Armenia, Nikol Pashinyan, and the President of Russia, Vladimir Putin, ending all hostilities in the area from 00:00, 10 November 2020 Moscow Time. [36] [37] [38] The President of Artsakh, Arayik Harutyunyan, also agreed to end the hostilities. [39] Under the agreement, the warring sides will keep control of their currently held areas within Nagorno-Karabakh, while Armenia will return the surrounding territories it occupied in 1994 to Azerbaijan. Azerbaijan will also gain land access to its Nakhchivan exclave bordering Turkey and Iran. [40] Approximately 2,000 Russian soldiers will be deployed as peacekeeping forces along the Lachin corridor between Armenia and Nagorno-Karabakh for a mandate of at least five years.
On 7 October, 2023, the Palestinian militant group Hamas launched a surprise attack on Israel, beginning the Israel-Hamas war [41] On 8 October, 2023, the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah fired guided rockets and artillery shells at Israeli positions, beginning the 2023 Israel-Hezbollah conflict. [42] On 1 April, 2024, Israel conducted an airstrike on the Iranian consulate complex in Damascus, Syria, beginning the 2024 Iran-Israel conflict. [43] [44] In September 2024, the Israel-Hezbollah conflict escalated into the 2024 Israel-Hezbollah War. [45]
In January 2020, the United States assassinated the commander of the Quds Force of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, general Qasem Soleimani. This led to an Iranian missile strike against bases housing US troops in Iraq five days later. As a result of expectations of a US retribution, the Iranian air defence system accidentally shot down Ukraine International Airlines Flight 752, killing all 176 people on board. [46] The International Maritime Security Construct was setup by the US to prevent Iran from disrupting international shipping in the Strait of Hormuz. [47]
Israel was suspected of being behind at least five explosions and fires at Iranian nuclear sites in the summer of 2020. [48] The leading nuclear scientist of the country, Mohsen Fakhrizadeh, was assassinated on 27 November 2020, with Iran blaming Israel for the attack. [49]
The Yemeni Civil War is an ongoing conflict that began in 2015 between two factions: the Abdrabbuh Mansur Hadi led Yemeni government and the Houthi armed movement, along with their supporters and allies. Both claim to constitute the official government of Yemen. [50]
Houthi forces currently control the capital Sanaʽa, allied with forces loyal to the former president Ali Abdullah Saleh, have clashed with the forces loyal to Hadi who are based in Aden. Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) and the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant have also carried out attacks, with AQAP controlling swathes of territory in the hinterlands, and along stretches of the coast. [51] Concurrently, the Hadi government is in conflict with UAE forces as a result of UAE military measures such as the United Arab Emirates takeover of Socotra and UAE-backed STC takeover of Aden. [52]
In February 2020, the political track of the Libyan peace process started in Geneva among 20 Libyans, from both the Tobruk-based and Tripoli-based parts of the Libyan House of Representatives, and from the independent persons' group selected by UN Support Mission in Libya (UNSMIL), including Interior Minister Fathi Bashagha, former Education Minister Othman Abdul Jalil and former head of the HCS Abdulrahman Sewehli. [53] The aimed composition was 13 HoR representatives from both the Tobruk and Tripoli branches, 13 HCS representatives and 14 UNSMIL-selected independent Libyans, for a total of 40. [54]
The Tigray conflict was an armed conflict that began in November 2020 in the Tigray Region of Ethiopia, between Tigray Region special forces led by the Tigray People's Liberation Front (TPLF), and the Ethiopian National Defense Force (ENDF) in alliance with Amhara Region special forces. [55]
The conflict stemmed from the attempt of Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed to distance the country's politics from ethnic federalism, a power-sharing system giving regional influence to individual ethnic groups, by merging the ethnic and region-based parties of the Ethiopian People's Revolutionary Democratic Front, which had governed Ethiopia for 30 years, into a nationwide Prosperity Party.
The Tigray People's Liberation Front, a military and politically powerful entity inside Ethiopia representing 6% of the total population ethnically, refused to join the new party, and alleged that Abiy Ahmed became an illegitimate ruler by rescheduling the general elections set for 29 August 2020 to an undetermined date in 2021 due to COVID-19.
The South Sudanese Civil War ended with a negotiated peace treaty. In January 2020, the Community of Sant'Egidio mediated a Rome Peace Declaration between the SSOMA and the South Sudanese government. [56] The most contentious issue delaying the formation of the unity government was whether South Sudan should keep 32 or return to 10 states. On 14 February 2020, Kiir announced South Sudan would return to 10 states in addition to three administrative areas of Abyei, Pibor, and Ruweng, [57] [58] and on 22 February Riek Machar was sworn in as first vice president for the creation of the unity government, ending the civil war. [59] Disarmament campaigns led by the government has led to resistance, with clashes killing more than 100 people in two days in north-central Tonj in August 2020. [60]
In January 2020, progress was made in peace negotiations, in the areas of land, transitional justice and system of government issues via the Darfur track of negotiations. SRF and Sovereignty Council representatives agreed on the creation of a Special Court for Darfur to conduct investigations and trials for war crimes and crimes against humanity carried out during the War in Darfur by the al-Bashir presidency and by warlords. Two Areas negotiations with SPLM-N (al-Hilu) had progressed on six framework agreement points, after a two-week pause, but disagreement remained on SPLM-N (al-Hilu)'s requirement of a secular state in South Kordofan and Nuba Mountains and Blue Nile self-determination. On 24 January on the Two Areas track, political and security agreements, constituting a framework agreement, were signed by Hemetti on behalf of the Sovereignty Council and Ahmed El Omda Badi on behalf of SPLM-N (Agar). The agreements give legislative autonomy to South Kordofan and Blue Nile; propose solutions for the sharing of land and other resources, and aim to unify all militias and government soldiers into a single unified Sudanese military body. On 26 January, a "final" peace agreement for the northern track, including issues of studies for new dams, compensation for people displaced by existing dams, road construction and burial of electronic and nuclear waste, was signed by Shamseldin Kabashi of the Sovereignty Council and Dahab Ibrahim of the Kush Movement. [61] [62] [63]
Following the 2021 Sudanese coup d'état, tensions mounted between the Sudanese government and the Rapid Support Forces, leading to the Battle of Khartoum on 15 April 2023, beginning the Sudanese civil war (2023–present). [64] [65]
In late 2022, Chinese military exercises and actions near Taiwan caused major world concern.
The Afghan peace process attempted to end the War in Afghanistan (2001–2021). Although sporadic efforts have taken place since the war began in 2001, negotiations intensified in 2018 amid talks between the Taliban, which is the main insurgent group fighting against the Afghan government and American troops; and the United States, of which 20,000 soldiers maintain a presence within the country to support the Afghan government. Most of the talks have taken place in Doha, the capital of Qatar. It is expected that a mutual agreement between the Taliban and the United States would be followed by a phased American withdrawal and the start of intra-Afghan peace talks. [66] Besides the United States, regional powers such as Pakistan, China and India, Russia, as well as NATO play a part in facilitating the peace process. [67] [68]
On February 29, 2020, the U.S. signed a conditional peace agreement with the Taliban, which calls for the withdrawal of foreign troops in 14 months if the Taliban uphold the terms of the agreement. [69] [70] On March 1, 2020, however, the Afghan government, which was not a party to the deal, rejected the U.S. and Taliban's call for a prisoner swap by March 10, 2020, with President Ghani stating that such an agreement will require further negotiation and will also not be implemented as a precondition for future peace negotiations. [71] [72] [73] [74] In March 2020, the Taliban announced they would resume hostilities with the Afghan Government if the prisoners were not released. [75] [76]
The Myanmar civil war is a ongoing civil war in Myanmar since 2021. As of March 2023 the United Nations estimated that since the coup in February 2021, 17.6 million people in Myanmar required humanitarian assistance, while 1.6 million were internally displaced, and over 55,000 civilian buildings had been destroyed. [77]
The Camp Simba attack by Al-Shabaab in January 2020 killed three Americans. [78]
The insurgency in Cabo Delgado intensified with events such as the 2020 Mozambique attacks, the Mocímboa da Praia offensive in 2020 and the Battle of Palma in 2021.
In November 2020, the Polisario Front considered Morocco had broken a 30-year truce and attacked Moroccan forces in Western Sahara as part of the Western Sahara conflict, leading to the Second Western Sahara War. [79]
The United States formally withdrew from the Treaty on Open Skies on November 22, 2020. [80]
On February 29, 2020, the United States and the Taliban signed a peace agreement in Doha, Qatar, officially titled the Agreement for Bringing Peace to Afghanistan. [81] The provisions of the deal include the withdrawal of all American and NATO troops from Afghanistan, a Taliban pledge to prevent al-Qaeda from operating in areas under Taliban control, and talks between the Taliban and the Afghan government. [82] The United States agreed to an initial reduction of its force level from 13,000 to 8,600 by July 2020, followed by a full withdrawal within 14 months if the Taliban keeps its commitments. [83] The United States also committed to closing five military bases within 135 days, [84] and expressed its intent to end economic sanctions on the Taliban by August 27, 2020. [85] The deal was supported by China, Russia and Pakistan, although it did not involve the government of Afghanistan. [86]
Despite the peace agreement between the U.S. and the Taliban, insurgent attacks against the Afghan Armed Forces and the various forces of Afghanistan's Ministry of the Interior (together known in U.S. terms as the Afghan National Defense and Security Forces) were reported to have surged. In the 45 days after the agreement (between 1 March and 15 April 2020), the Taliban conducted more than 4,500 attacks in Afghanistan, which showed an increase of more than 70% as compared to the same period in the previous year. [87] More than 900 Afghan security forces were killed in the period, up from about 520 in the same period a year earlier. Meanwhile, because of a significant reduction in the number of offensives and airstrikes by Afghan and U.S. forces against the Taliban due to the agreement, Taliban casualties dropped to 610 in the period down from about 1,660 in the same period a year earlier. On 22 June 2020, Afghanistan reported its "bloodiest week in 19 years," during which 291 members of the Afghan National Defense and Security Forces (ANDSF) were killed and 550 others wounded in 422 attacks carried out by the Taliban. At least 42 civilians, including women and children, were also killed and 105 others wounded by the Taliban across 18 provinces. [88] During the week, the Taliban kidnapped 60 civilians in the central province of Daykundi. [89]
The Brereton Report found evidence of 39 murders of civilians and prisoners by (or at the instruction of) members of the Australian special forces, which were subsequently covered up by ADF personnel. [90] [91] [92] The report stated 25 ADF personnel were involved in the killings, including those who were "accessories" to the incident. [93] The unlawful killings discussed by the report began in 2009, with most occurring in 2012 and 2013. [94]
The Israeli foreign intelligence agency Mossad was accused by Iran of using an "artificial intelligence" machine gun controlled by a satellite in the assassination of Mohsen Fakhrizadeh. [95]
On 7 October 2023 the Palestinian militant group Hamas launched a surprise attack on southern Israel from the Gaza Strip, beginning the Israel-Hamas war. [96]
The Philippines was considering a purchase of the BrahMos cruise missile system in late 2020. [97]
In early 2020, the Syrian Civil War flared up, with massive fighting between Syrian government forces and rebel groups in northwestern Syria. In March 2020, Syria claimed that a number of its soldiers had been killed in Turkish attacks. [98] Turkey warned that millions of migrants might head for the EU. [99] Greece suspended all asylum applications. [100]
In May 2020, Special UN Envoy Geir Pedersen said that warring factions had indicated some willingness to have new peace talks. [101]
Fighting in the Syrian Civil War continued around the areas of Idlib and Aleppo in northwestern Syria. [102]
In January 2020, Turkey announced it had sent troops to Libya in order to support the National Transitional Council in the Libyan Civil War, but that they would be in non-combat duties. [103] In March 2020, Turkey started a military offensive against the Syrian Armed Forces as part of its intervention in the Syrian Civil War. [104] Turkey also supported the Azerbaijani side in the 2020 Nagorno-Karabakh war by supplying it with Syrian mercenaries and drones. [105]
The Finnish Navy is building its largest ships since World War II with the Pohjanmaa-class corvette. Meanwhile, the Finnish Air Force will replace its McDonnell Douglas F/A-18 Hornet fighters through the HX Fighter Program, being the most expensive military procurement in Finnish history. Finland is also procuring a new surface-to-air missile, with possible contenders being the AMRAAM-ER, IRIS-T SL, EMADS, SPYDER MR/LR or David's Sling systems. [106]
The French military is scheduled to receive a 46% increase to its annual budget by 2025, compared to 2018. [107] As part of this, Project Scorpion aims to replace almost all mechanized vehicles in the army and upgrade the Leclerc tanks. [107] The air force was, on the other hand, expanded in 2020 to cover space force activities as well. [107] Meanwhile, the French Navy received the first of the Barracuda-class nuclear attack submarines in 2020. [108] Overseas, the French military intervention in the Sahel continued fighting against the Islamic State in the Greater Sahara. [109]
The Russian Navy will build a new base in Port Sudan, which will be the country's first in Africa since the Soviet Union had a base in Baledogle, Somalia during the Cold War until 1977. [110] [111]
In 2020, Russian cyberwarfare operations hacked US federal government departments, FireEye, an IT security company. [112]
The United Kingdom unveiled the largest spending increases on the military since the end of the Cold War. [113]
The AUKUS trilateral security pact between Australia, the United Kingdom, and the United States was announced on 15 September 2021. [114] Under the pact, the United States and United Kingdom agree to help Australia to develop and deploy nuclear-powered submarines, adding to the Western military presence in the Pacific region. [115] Although the joint announcement by Australian prime minister Scott Morrison, British prime minister Boris Johnson and US president Joe Biden did not mention any other country by name, anonymous White House sources have alleged it is designed to counter the influence of the People's Republic of China (PRC) in the Indo-Pacific region. [116]
Artificial intelligence solutions are being developed and deployed for air combat purposes, though sixth-generation jet fighters are expected to still have human pilots. [117] Specific tasks will, however, are being automated, for example in the Automatic Ground Collision Avoidance System. [117]
A sensor-system for detecting underground military activities, such as tunnelling, was developed by the Sandia National Laboratories in the early 2020s. [118]
The Azerbaijani Armed Forces is the military of the Republic of Azerbaijan. It was re-established according to the country's Law of the Armed Forces on 9 October 1991. The original Azerbaijan Democratic Republic's armed forces were dissolved after Azerbaijan was absorbed into the Soviet Union as the Azerbaijan Soviet Socialist Republic from 28 April 1920. After the Soviet Union dissolved in 1991–92, Azerbaijan's armed forces were reformed based on Soviet bases and equipment left on Azerbaijani soil.
The First Nagorno-Karabakh War was an ethnic and territorial conflict that took place from February 1988 to May 1994, in the enclave of Nagorno-Karabakh in southwestern Azerbaijan, between the majority ethnic Armenians of Nagorno-Karabakh backed by Armenia, and the Republic of Azerbaijan with support from Turkey. As the war progressed, Armenia and Azerbaijan, both former Soviet republics, entangled themselves in protracted, undeclared mountain warfare in the mountainous heights of Karabakh as Azerbaijan attempted to curb the secessionist movement in Nagorno-Karabakh.
The Nagorno-Karabakh conflict is an ethnic and territorial conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan over the region of Nagorno-Karabakh, inhabited mostly by ethnic Armenians until 2023, and seven surrounding districts, inhabited mostly by Azerbaijanis until their expulsion during the 1990s. The Nagorno-Karabakh region was entirely claimed by and partially controlled by the breakaway Republic of Artsakh, but was recognized internationally as part of Azerbaijan. Azerbaijan gradually re-established control over Nagorno-Karabakh region and the seven surrounding districts.
Nagorno-Karabakh is located in the southern part of the Lesser Caucasus range, at the eastern edge of the Armenian Highlands, encompassing the highland part of the wider geographical region known as Karabakh. Under Russian and Soviet rule, the region came to be known as Nagorno-Karabakh, meaning "Mountainous Karabakh" in Russian. The name Karabakh itself was first encountered in Georgian and Persian sources from the 13th and 14th centuries to refer to lowlands between the Kura and Aras rivers and the adjacent mountainous territory.
The Battle of Kalbajar took place in March and April 1993, during the First Nagorno-Karabakh War. It resulted in the capture of the Kalbajar District of Azerbaijan by Armenian military forces.
Relations have always been strong between Azerbaijan and Turkey, the only two predominantly Turkic countries located west of the Caspian Sea. Former Azerbaijani president Heydar Aliyev often described the two as being "one nation, two states."
There are no diplomatic relations between Armenia and Azerbaijan. The two neighboring states had formal governmental relations between 1918 and 1921, during their brief independence from the collapsed Russian Empire, as the First Republic of Armenia and the Democratic Republic of Azerbaijan; these relations existed from the period after the Russian Revolution until they were occupied and annexed by the Soviet Union, becoming the constituent republics of Soviet Armenia and Soviet Azerbaijan. Due to the five wars waged by the countries in the past century—one from 1918 to 1921, another from 1988 to 1994, and the most recent in 2016, 2020 and 2023—the two have had strained relations. In the wake of hostilities, social memory of Soviet-era cohabitation is widely repressed through censorship and stigmatization.
Bilateral relations between modern-day Armenia and the Russian Federation were established on 3 April 1992, though Russia has been an important actor in Armenia since the early 19th century. The two countries' historic relationship has its roots in the Russo-Persian War of 1826 to 1828 between the Russian Empire and Qajar Persia after which Eastern Armenia was ceded to Russia. Moreover, Russia was viewed as a protector of the Christian subjects in the Ottoman Empire, including the Armenians.
The Armenian-occupied territories surrounding Nagorno-Karabakh were areas of Azerbaijan, situated around the former Nagorno-Karabakh Autonomous Oblast (NKAO), which were occupied by the ethnic Armenian military forces of the breakaway Republic of Artsakh with military support from Armenia, from the end of the First Nagorno-Karabakh War (1988–1994) to 2020, when the territories were returned to Azerbaijani control by military force or handed over in accordance to the 2020 Nagorno-Karabakh ceasefire agreement. The surrounding regions were seized by Armenians under the justification of a "security belt" which was to be traded for recognition of autonomous status from Azerbaijan.
The 2016 Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, also known as the Four-Day War, April War, or April clashes, began along the former Nagorno-Karabakh line of contact on 1 April 2016 with the Artsakh Defence Army, backed by the Armenian Armed Forces, on one side and the Azerbaijani Armed Forces on the other.
The Second Nagorno-Karabakh War was an armed conflict in 2020 that took place in the disputed region of Nagorno-Karabakh and the surrounding occupied territories. It was a major escalation of an unresolved conflict over the region, involving Azerbaijan, Armenia and the self-declared Armenian breakaway state of Artsakh. The war lasted for 44 days and resulted in Azerbaijani victory, with the defeat igniting anti-government protests in Armenia. Post-war skirmishes continued in the region, including substantial clashes in 2022.
The bombardment of Stepanakert began on September 27, 2020, the first day of the Second Nagorno-Karabakh War, and lasted throughout the duration of the war. Stepanakert is the capital and largest city of the self-proclaimed Republic of Artsakh, internationally recognized as part of Azerbaijan, and was home to 60,000 Armenians on the eve of the war. Throughout the 6-week bombardment, international third parties consistently confirmed evidence of the indiscriminate use of cluster bombs and missiles by Azerbaijan against civilian areas lacking any military installations in Stepanakert; this was denied by Azerbaijan. The prolonged bombardment forced many residents to flee, and the rest to take cover in crowded bomb shelters, leading to a severe outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic in the city, infecting a majority of the remaining residents. Throughout the course of the bombardment, 13 residents were killed, 51 were injured, and 4,258 buildings in the city were damaged.
The 2020 Nagorno-Karabakh ceasefire agreement was an armistice agreement that ended the Second Nagorno-Karabakh War. It was signed on 9 November by the President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev, the Prime Minister of Armenia Nikol Pashinyan and the President of Russia Vladimir Putin, and ended all hostilities in the Nagorno-Karabakh region from 00:00, on 10 November 2020 Moscow time. The president of the self-declared Republic of Artsakh, Arayik Harutyunyan, also agreed to an end of hostilities.
The Memorial Day in Azerbaijan is a public holiday in Azerbaijan for honoring and mourning the military personnel who have died while serving in the Azerbaijani Armed Forces during the 2020 Nagorno-Karabakh war, officially labelled as The Patriotic War. Established by the decree of the President of Azerbaijan, dated 2 December 2020, the holiday is held on 27 September, the day when the war began.
The following is list of the official reactions to the Second Nagorno-Karabakh War.
In the aftermath of the Second Nagorno-Karabakh War, peacekeeping operations were initiated by Russia in the Nagorno-Karabakh region to monitor the ceasefire between the Armenian and Azerbaijani forces. Separate from the Russian operation, Turkey also has personnel working in a joint Russian–Turkish monitoring centre.
The military forces of Armenia and Azerbaijan have been engaged in a border conflict since 12 May 2021, when Azerbaijani soldiers crossed several kilometers into Armenia in the provinces of Syunik and Gegharkunik. Despite international calls for withdrawal from the European Parliament, France, Iran, and the United States, Azerbaijan has maintained its presence on Armenian soil, occupying at least 215 square kilometres (83 sq mi) of internationally recognized Armenian territory. This occupation follows a pattern of Azerbaijan provoking cross-border fights and instigating ceasefire violations when its government is unhappy with the pace of negotiations with Armenia.
Because of the geography, history, and sensitivities of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, accusations, allegations, and statements have been made of involvement by third-party and international actors during the Second Nagorno-Karabakh War, including in media reports. Azerbaijan has been accused of employing Syrian mercenaries during the war, including reports by the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR). There have also been allegations of Kurdish militia from Syria and Iraq fighting on the Armenian side, and although some third-party sources had confirmed it, some publications had considered these claims "dubious". During the war, ethnic Armenian volunteers from the Middle East, Europe, and Latin America fought on Armenian side. Both sides have denied employing mercenaries in the war, but the OHCHR had stated that there were reports about Syrian fighters motivated primarily by private gain fighting on Azerbaijan's side recruited with Turkey's assistance and foreign nationals fighting on Armenian side with motivation being investigated, calling for withdrawal of any mercenaries and related actors from Nagorno-Karabakh.
This is a list of individuals and events related to Azerbaijan in 2023.
The Iran–Turkey proxy conflict refers to the regional rivalry between Iran and Turkey in the Middle East, mainly during armed conflicts and struggles for influence.
... If the collapse of the USSR was sudden and largely bloodless, growing strains between its two largest successors would develop into limited fighting in the Donbas in 2014 and then into all-out warfare in 2022, causing death, destruction, and a refugee crisis on a scale not seen in Europe since the Second World War.
On 27 September 2020, Azerbaijan launched a military offensive, resulting in fighting that spans much of the line of contact in the breakaway region of Nagorno-Karabakh...
'Turkey is already supporting Azerbaijan militarily, through technical assistance through arms sales, providing critical military support, especially in terms of armed drones and technical expertise', said Turkish analyst Ilhan Uzgel.
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: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)Hezbollah on Sunday said it had launched guided rockets and artillery onto three posts in the Shebaa Farms 'in solidarity' with the Palestinian people.
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