The Armenian Defense Ministry issued a statement on the destruction of an Azerbaijani helicopter on the Nagorno Karabakh contact line.

According to Ministry spokesman Artsrun Hovhannisyan, the Mi-24/35 aircraft was shot down east to Mount Mrav.

Mi-35 is the updated version of Mi-24. After 2010, Azerbaijan bought 24 units of Mi-35 aircraft from Russia, also acquiring 12 units of Mi24 helicopters from Ukraine.

On the night of April 1-2, Azerbaijani armed forces initiated overt offensive operations in the southern, southeastern and northeastern directions of the line of contact with Nagorno Karabakh, using artillery, armored fighting vehicles and air force equipment among other weapons.

Aside from the battles on the frontline, the rival has also carried out artillery strikes on civilian settlements and places of permanent deployment of several military units.

On April 2, at around 8:30 am, the rival used BM-21 Grad multiple rocket launcher in the Martuni direction of the contact line. 12-year-old Vaghinak Grigoryan was killed in the shelling, two more children were wounded.

Read also:Azeri aggression fraught with unpredictable consequences: Armenia

12-year-old Armenian child killed, two more wounded in Azeri shelling