Aravot.am’s interviewee is April War participant, “For Courage” medal awardee of the Republic of Artsakh, Tigran Harutyunyan. He was serving for already one and a half years when April 2, 2016, came forward.
That day, in the morning, when the alarm signal started at the military unit, he thought it was another alarm calling for training. Being a special motorized rifle battalion driver at the Defense Army, he took off to Talish frontline together with the subdivisions of the unit.
“At that time I did not visualize the seriousness of the situation. And I had learned about war only from my father and grandfather who participated in Karabakh War,” tells Tigran.
He said it was a completely other picture in the positions. Everyone had forgotten about the fear. The Commanders were fighting side by side with the soldiers, giving immediate instructions. “I was surprised, inasmuch as the immediacy, keeping the positions side by side with the soldier… honestly, I did not expect that. Our commanders were always encouraging us and showing how to fight through their own example,” he explains.
Tigran highlighted that the injured soldiers did not want to leave the frontline even for a medical assistance. “Until that, I was skeptical about our generation and did not think in case of necessity we will be able to act like our fathers and grandfathers,” mentions Tigran.
The first heaviest hardship was waiting on the positions. A piece of a landmine exploded because of a mine launcher strike stick into the helmet. The wound was not a serious one. However, everything was just starting. Meanwhile, they were taking the injured soldiers from positions to the unit, Azerbaijan’s “Kamikadze” striker drone was flying above them at a certain height. Taking the injured soldiers to the ambulance by two flat tires very quickly, Tigran set the command post as his destination.
“At the command post, standing near the car, I noticed a UAV falling down before me. I managed only to take the gun when the wave of the explosion threw me to the side. A few cars by my side, mine encompassed, exploded. At that time I appeared to be lucky enough once again.”
Tigran was proudly telling about the soldiers and the commanders, their fighting spirit and courageous deeds during the interview.
In the end, he assures: “If there is a need again, I am sure our counterattack will be many times more powerful. April War showed that we are more experienced now and have a whole Armenian nation supporting by any means.”
Davit ABAGHYAN
