May 8^th is the day of the liberation of Shushi, which is one of the victories that was crucial for the Armenian people. This year marks the 23^rd anniversary of the liberation of Shushi, writes Panorama.am.

During the war unleashed by Azerbaijan, Shushi had turned into a military base for the Azerbaijanis. Taking advantage of the high position of the city, the opponent started bombing the capital of Stepanakert of the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic in late 1991. The situation sharply worsened in February 1992. The opponent particularly bombed residential districts. In late April 1992, Armenian soldiers decided to attack and liberate Shushi from the groups of armed Azerbaijani soldiers.

On the night of 8 May 1992, 3,800 volunteer soldiers participated in the liberation of Shushi under the leadership of commander of Artsakh’s self-defense forces Arkadi Ter-Tadevosyan. The front was 45 km long, and the attack was carried out in several directions.

On the morning of May 9 (04:00), Arkadi Ter-Tadevosyan declared that all the groups of the opponent had left Shushi and that Shushi was liberated.