Second Nagorno-Karabakh War

The Second Nagorno-Karabakh War was a 44-day armed conflict between Azerbaijan and the self-declared Republic of Artsakh (backed by Armenia) over the disputed Nagorno-Karabakh region and surrounding territories. Fighting began on 27 September 2020 and ended with a Russian-brokered ceasefire signed on 9–10 November 2020 by Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev, Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, and Russian President Vladimir Putin.

The war reversed much of the territorial outcome of the First Nagorno-Karabakh War (1988–1994). Azerbaijani forces retook large portions of the territories surrounding Nagorno-Karabakh that had been held by ethnic Armenian forces since the 1990s, including the strategically important town of Shusha (Shushi) in early November. Under the trilateral ceasefire statement, Armenia agreed to withdraw from the districts of Aghdam, Kalbajar, and Lachin, and Russia deployed roughly 2,000 peacekeepers to the region, including along the Lachin corridor linking Armenia to the remaining Armenian-populated areas of Karabakh.

The conflict was notable militarily for the extensive use of unmanned aerial vehicles, particularly Turkish-made Bayraktar TB2 drones and Israeli-made loitering munitions (Harop, SkyStriker) employed by Azerbaijan, which proved highly effective against Armenian armor and air defenses. Turkey provided overt political and material backing to Azerbaijan, marking a significant shift in the regional balance.

Casualty figures remain contested; both sides acknowledged thousands of military deaths, with civilian casualties on both sides as well. International humanitarian concerns included reports of cluster munition use, attacks on populated areas such as Ganja and Stepanakert, and allegations of war crimes documented by Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International.

The 2020 ceasefire did not produce a comprehensive peace settlement. Subsequent clashes occurred in 2021 and 2022, and in September 2023 Azerbaijan launched a one-day offensive that led to the dissolution of the Republic of Artsakh (effective 1 January 2024) and the displacement of nearly the entire ethnic Armenian population of Nagorno-Karabakh.