Russian submarine commander is machine-gunned to death by Azerbaijan forces during peacekeeping mission
Russian submarine commander is shot dead with machine guns by Azerbaijani forces during a peacekeeping mission
- Captain Ivan Kovgan was killed by machine gun fire in a war-torn region of Azerbaijan
- He was part of a Russian peacekeeping force deployed to the area
- Kovgan was deputy commander of the submarine force of the Russian Northern Fleet
Vladimir Putin has lost one of his top nuclear submarine commanders after his vehicle was hit by heavy machine gun fire while he was on a peacekeeping mission in Azerbaijan.
Captain Ivan Kovgan, 52, was shot in the disputed Azerbaijani territory of Nagorno-Karabakh, where he was posted as deputy commander of a peacekeeping force.
The 52-year-old military leader was also deputy commander of Russia’s Northern Fleet submarine force, based in the Arctic.
He died along with Colonel Tagir-Murod Karaev, of the Russian Radiation, Chemical and Biological Forces, along with four other Russian servicemen, when their UAZ Patriot vehicle was riddled with bullets by the Azerbaijani army.
‘Their vehicle came under fire. Everyone was killed,” the source said.
Captain Ivan Kovgan (pictured) was killed by machine gun fire in Azerbaijan
His 4×4 vehicle was riddled with machine gun bullets
He and five other Russian soldiers were killed in the attack
Photos of the 4×4 vehicle carrying the soldiers show it was riddled with bullets.
Those responsible for the shooting of the submarine commander and other peacekeepers have been arrested and are expected to face criminal charges.
Their commander has been suspended.
Azerbaijan’s President Ilham Aliyev personally apologized to Putin for the killing of Kovgan and the other peacekeepers, and promised financial compensation for their families.
“To investigate all causes of the incident, the investigative authorities of Azerbaijan and Russia are on the ground,” the Defense Ministry said in Baku.
Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev has personally apologized for the killings
Kovgan (pictured left) was deputy commander of the Russian submarine force of the Northern Fleet, stationed in the Arctic
It called for “patience” during the investigation and expressed condolences to the Russian army and the soldiers’ relatives.
The killings came as a ceasefire was declared between Azerbaijan and ethnic Armenians in the region, just 24 hours after Azerbaijan launched a military operation to take full control of Nagorno-Karabakh, a province mainly located in Armenia.
Located in the South Caucasus mountains of Eastern Europe and Asia, between the Black Sea and the Caspian Sea, the area was at the center of one of the world’s longest-running conflicts.
Russian peacekeepers were sent to the region after thousands of people were reportedly killed during six weeks of fighting between Armenia, Azerbaijan and the self-declared breakaway region of Artsakh.