‘Two dead’ after Russian military helicopter downed by missile near Armenia-Azerbaijan border

Mi-24 shot down as Azerbaijani forces seize control of key city in ongoing conflict, report Oliver Carroll in Moscow and Andy Gregory

Azerbaijan admitted it was responsible for the downing of the Mi-24 helicopter (AFP/Getty)

A Russian military helicopter has been shot down by a surface-to-air missile over Armenia, close to the Azerbaijan border, Moscow has said.

The Ministry of Defence said two people had been killed and a third injured in the incident on Monday.

According to Moscow, the helicopter, an Mi-24, was accompanying a convoy from a Russian military base. 

Russia has a large military base in Armenia, but it is about 150 kilometres from where the helicopter was shot down, near the Azerbaijan exclave of Nakhchivan.

Russian forces in Armenia are investigating who is responsible, the ministry said in a statement.

Azerbaijan admitted it was responsible for the downing of the helicopter. In an official statement it said the helicopter was taken out as it was in “close proximity” to the border. It apologised to Russia for the “tragic incident” and said it was an accident.

“The Azerbaijani side expresses its sincere condolences to the families of the killed crew members and wishes the injured people a speedy recovery,” according to a statement from the Azerbajian Foreign Ministry, reported by wire agencies.

Armenian and Azerbaijani forces have been fighting for six weeks over the region of Nagorno-Karabakh, which is within Azerbaijan but has been under the control of ethnic Armenian forces, backed by Armenia, since 1994.

News of the downed Russian helicopter came as a spokesperson for the president of the separatist government in Nagorno-Karabakh confirmed that Azerbaijani forces had taken control of Shushi, a strategically key city, and warned they were nearing the region’s capital.

Wounded ethnic Armenian soldiers and civilians ride a rescue services ambulance as they leave the separatist region of Nagorno-Karabakh to Armenia (AP)

Azerbaijani president Ilham Aliyev had declared the previous day that his country’s soldiers had seized Shushi – the most significant military development in the fighting over the territory.

Shushi’s position above the regional capital Stepanakert, which is about 10km to the north, gives strategic advantage to whomever holds it. The city also lies along the main road connecting Stepanakert with Armenia.

Long lines of vehicles have jammed the road as Nagorno-Karabakh residents flee the fighting into Armenia, although approximately 100,000 ethnic Armenians are thought to remain in the enclave.

With agencies