Operation Ring: Soviet-Azerbaijani Offensive Begins

Soviet Interior Ministry troops and Azerbaijani OMON (special police) forces launched Operation Ring, a military operation to disarm and deport Armenian inhabitants from villages surrounding Nagorno-Karabakh.

The Operation

Operation Ring involved:

• Joint Soviet-Azerbaijani forces
• Targeted 24 Armenian villages
• Used armor and helicopter gunships
• Claimed goal: disarm “illegal formations”

Pattern of Action

In each village:

1. Surrounded at dawn by troops
2. Demanded surrender of weapons
3. Conducted house-to-house searches
4. Deported Armenian population
5. Allowed Azerbaijani settlement

Villages Affected

Key targets included:

• Getashen and Martunashen (largest operations)
• Northern villages forming “ring” around Karabakh
• Strategic locations controlling access routes
• Historically Armenian settlements

Human Rights Violations

Documented abuses:

• Arbitrary detentions and beatings
• Destruction of property
• Forced deportations
• Several civilian deaths
• International condemnation

Strategic Impact

Operation Ring:

• Radicalized Armenian resistance
• Accelerated militarization of conflict
• Demonstrated Soviet support for Azerbaijan
• Created refugee crisis
• Sparked international attention

Legacy

The operation became symbol of:

• Soviet complicity in ethnic cleansing
• Armenian vulnerability
• Need for self-defense forces
• Justification for independence