Nagorno-Karabakh presidential spokesman Vahram Poghosyan has denied Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev's claims that his army has captured the town of Hadrut.

"The nonsense that Ilham Aliyev said about capturing Hadrut is as far from reality as the intimidated Azeri army is from Hadrut, i.e. tens of kilometers," Poghosyan said Friday, October 9.

Armenian Defense Ministry representative Artsrun Hovhannisyan too denied Aliyev's claims.

"I am in Hadrut right now, for some reason all I see is Armenians," Hovhannisyan wrote on Facebook.

Immediately after Aliyev's address, Russian journalists from WarGonzo Telegram channel published a photo from Hadrut and said they had recently returned from the town which is under the Karabakh Defense Army's control.

Azerbaijan, with help from Turkey, launched a large-scale offensive against Karabakh (Artsakh) in the morning of September 27, shelling Armenian positions and civilian settlements with large caliber weapons and rocket systems. Armenia and Karabakh have introduced martial law and total mobilization. The Armenian side has reported deaths and injuries both among the civilian population and the military. International and local journalists too have been injured in Azeri shelling of towns and villages, as well as the iconic Ghazanchetsots Cathedral in Shushi.

Donations can be made to Hayastan All-Armenian Fund, which has launched a fundraising campaign to support Karabakh amid Azerbaijan's aggression.