Junior Sergeant Georgy Arustamyan, who is serving at the military unit stationed in the northern sector of the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic, participated in the operation to retrieve a territory during the first days of the war that broke out in early April.

Georgy, 21, is from Stepanakert and is in his 22^nd month of military service. He doesn’t talk a lot about the war that took place in April, but his fellow servicemen reprimand him, telling him to talk about all the things that he has done.

There was only one thing that opened Georgy up. His 12-year-old sister had sent a letter that surprised and changed the mood of the soldier who had left the military position to rest minutes ago.

We read his sister Lia’s letter together. Georgy gets emotional and feels happy as he reads the letter. It is as if he is with his little sister and relatives and is attached to them with an invisible string. He holds back his tears and starts talking.

Georgy Arustamyan: “I think about them almost every minute while standing on the border. This letter put a smile on my face and made me happier. I miss everyone a lot and I only want them to be in peace. The tranquility of our parents, sisters and relatives gives us soldiers more strength and lets us know that our work is not in vain. We are here so that they can live in peace.”

Georgy is “stingy” again when he was asked about the war. He remembers how he and his fellow servicemen were taken to the military front on the morning of 2 April and how each soldier did his job to defend the homeland.

His fellow servicemen remind me that “he retrieved a military position”. He smiles, looks towards the mountains in front of him and, understanding that he has to respond, briefly presents what happened.

“On the first day of the war, the opponent managed to take two positions in our territory. On the same day, we decided to retrieve them. We split into two groups and took action. We failed the first time, but on 3 April, we had already retrieved both positions. The main operation lasted minutes, and everything went according to our plan.”

The sergeant says the main guarantee of success is the soldiers’ disposition to fight, adding that knowing the area also helped them.

“It was our territory. We couldn’t go wrong. We pushed the opponent back with tanks and powerful military equipment. They came with many soldiers and left with great casualties.”

The 21-year-old border guard is at the military position again, but with a deeper conscience. The war of April changed a lot of things in the soldier’s life.

“We saw many things during those couple of days. We now have a deeper understanding of life, the homeland and peace. Nothing can ever threaten us again. We are ready to overcome any difficulty. Once again, we saw and became convinced that the opponent can’t achieve and never will be able to achieve its goal.”

Siranush Yeghiazaryan

Photos by Siranush Yeghiazaryan

Mediamax