In accordance with the combat training plan for 2022 approved by the Minister of Defense, the Air Defense Units conducted live-fire tactical exercises, according to the Defense Ministry.

During the practical firing, the military personnel detected and destroyed an imaginary enemy’s air targets using portable anti-aircraft missile systems.

The military personnel successfully accomplished the assigned combat tasks.

The amphibious aircraft of Azerbaijan’s Ministry of Emergency Situations continues to successfully extinguish wildfires in the Marmaris region of the Turkish province of Mugla.

“Anatolian Eagle – 2022” International Flight-Tactical Exercises are being held in Konya, Türkiye, Report informs, citing the Defence Ministry of Azerbaijan.

During the first stage of the exercises, the instructors, according to the plan, informed participants about the safety rules and explained issues related to the flight and other tasks.

The military pilots destroyed the imaginary enemy’s air defence means and carried out airstrikes on the designated targets.

The assigned tasks were successfully fulfilled during the exercises.

The international flight-tactical exercises will last until July 1.

As part of the reforms carried out in the Azerbaijan Army under the instruction of the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan, Supreme Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces, Mr. Ilham Aliyev, activities on creating a military infrastructure that meets modern standards and increasing the combat training of the units continue, MoD told Report.

The Minister of Defense Colonel General Zakir Hasanov and the leadership of the Ministry got acquainted with the work carried out at the military facilities being under construction in Kalbajar and Lachin.

The construction of barracks and office premises, a bath and laundry complex, a medical point, and other infrastructure facilities, as well as their provision with modern equipment, are planned to organize military police service at a high level in the liberated territories.

Then Colonel General Hasanov inspected the warehouses of logistics being under construction. It was emphasized that in order to organize the continual and sustainable activity of the troops, regardless of the climatic conditions and terrain, the units will be centrally provided with ammunition, fuel, and lubricants, as well as other necessary spare parts and equipment through warehouses built with the consideration of modern requirements.

Having checked the progress of construction work, the Minister of Defense gave relevant instructions on strict compliance with safety rules, high quality, and timely completion of construction.

Around 1,700 people from 13 villages in Spain were forced to evacuate their homes due to wildfires raging across the country, while much of Europe suffered an early heatwave.

Under the instruction of the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan, Supreme Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces, Mr. Ilham Aliyev, the Minister of Defense Colonel General Zakir Hasanov, and the leadership of the Ministry met with military personnel serving in combat positions stationed in the territory of the Kalbajar and Lachin districts of the state border, MoD told Report.

Having met with servicemen serving in areas with harsh climatic conditions and difficult terrain, the Minister highly appreciated their combat and moral-psychological training.

Then Colonel-General Hasanov observed the activities of the opposing side from the observation posts and checked the capabilities of optical surveillance devices and technical means.

The Minister got acquainted with the conditions created in the accommodation points and was reported that all the necessary infrastructure was created here to ensure qualitative organization and conduct of combat duty.

In the end, the Defense Minister noted that the work aimed at improving the social and living conditions of servicemen would continue in the future. The Minister gave relevant instructions to the command staff on further improving the combat capability of the units and ensuring stable defense.

Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky visits the country’s war-ridden east for the first time since the Russian invasion.

The visit of a delegation led by the Minister of National Defense of the Republic of Türkiye Hulusi Akar to Azerbaijan ended on May 29, Report informs, citing the Azerbaijani Defense Minister.

As part of the visit, the delegation, which included the Chief of the General Staff and the commanders of the forces of the Republic of Türkiye, visited several military units.

The Minister of Defense of the Republic of Azerbaijan, Colonel General Zakir Hasanov, and the Minister of National Defense of the Republic of Türkiye Hulusi Akar got acquainted with the military equipment available in the armament, as well as with the conditions created in classrooms and other military facilities. The military leaders of both countries met with servicemen and wished them success in their future service.

The Azerbaijan Minister of Defense Zakir Hasanov saw off the guests at the Heydar Aliyev International Airport.

Tasks assigned for the next stage of the “Efes-2022” multinational exercises held in Izmir, Turkey have been fulfilled, according to the Azerbaijani Defense Ministry.

The tasks set at the “Anatolian Phoenix-2021” International Search and Rescue Exercises held in Konya, Turkiye have been successfully fulfilled, according to the Azerbaijani Defense Ministry.

As part of the reforms carried out in the Azerbaijan Army under the instruction of the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan, Supreme Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces, Mr. Ilham Aliyev, measures to create a military infrastructure that meets modern standards and increase the combat readiness of the units successfully continue.

Report informs, citing the Ministry of Defense, that the Minister of Defense, Colonel General Zakir Hasanov, and the leadership of the Ministry inspected the military infrastructure recently commissioned at the Garaheybat Training Center.

It was reported to the Minister of Defense that training areas adapted to real combat conditions have been built for the practical application of modern combat methods.

Moreover, classes are conducted to improve servicemen’s practical skills in the management of various types of combat equipment in difficult terrain and severe weather conditions, as well as firing from them.

In the training areas, the Defense Minister watched the exemplary performances of cadets in the training course for long-term active military servicemen.

First, the practical fulfillment of standards for fire training and shooting exercises was demonstrated at the shooting range.

Then the Minister of Defense visited the tank shooting range. It was noted that methods of effective use of tanks in human settlements are worked out on the basis of the experience gained during the Patriotic War and recent combat operations.

Then an engineering camp was inspected. It was noted that in the camp, servicemen are provided with detailed information about various types of mines and ammunition. Moreover, the tasks of detecting mines and unexploded ordnance, as well as neutralizing them in compliance with safety rules are fulfilled by applying engineering equipment.

Having watched the cadets’ training on the “Scout Trail” obstacle course of the physical training camp, the Defense Minister visited the command-observation post of the artillery battery. The cadets successfully accomplished firing tasks using artillery simulators.

In the end, the Minister of Defense inspected the progress of construction work at military facilities under construction in the territory of the center.

Colonel General Z.Hasanov gave relevant instructions and recommendations on maintaining the combat readiness and professionalism of servicemen at a high level, studying and applying modern training methods, as well as the high-quality implementation of construction work.

Efes-2022 multinational exercises held in Izmir, Türkiye continue, report informs, citing the Azerbaijani Defense Ministry.

According to the international exercises plan, the servicemen carried out practical shooting with pistols, small arms and machine guns.

Moreover, the tasks of providing first aid to a wounded serviceman, safe evacuation, and conducting search-and-rescue operations were successfully accomplished.

The international exercises, involving servicemen of the Combined Arms Army and the Naval Forces, will last until June 9.

Turkish and Azerbaijani fighter aircrafts performed aerobatics in the sky over Baku on May 23, in preparation for the TEKNOFEST Azerbaijan festival.

A one-on-one meeting has got underway between President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev and President of the European Council Charles Michel in Brussels, Report informs via Azertag.

President of the European Council Charles Michel welcomed President Ilham Aliyev.

They then posed for photos.

The Azerbaijani Ministry of Defense presented a review of the events of last week.

Witness testimony and videos obtained by The New York Times show how Russian paratroopers executed at least eight Ukrainian men in a Kyiv suburb on March 4, a potential war crime, Report informs, citing news agency.

Security camera footage obtained by The Times shows that the soldiers, like those who were ambushed in late February, were paratroopers. The video shows them driving vehicles — such as the BMD-2, BMD-3 and BMD-4 designs — that are used almost exclusively by the Russian Airborne Forces, according to experts from the International Institute for Strategic Studies and the Royal United Services Institute.

The paratroopers patrolled the area, conducting house-to-house searches and operating in and out of 144 Yablunska Street, a four-story office building that the Russians turned into a base and field hospital.

About 300 yards from that base, at 31 Yablunska Street, Ivan Skyba, a 43-year-old builder, and five other fighters had been manning a makeshift checkpoint when the Russians returned. They had a grenade, bulletproof vests and a rifle between them, Mr. Skyba told The Times.

Warned via radio that Russians were back in Bucha and moving in their direction, they hid in the house beside the checkpoint, along with the homeowner, Valera Kotenko, 53, who had been bringing the fighters tea and coffee, Mr. Skyba said.

They were joined later by two more fighters, Andriy Dvornikov and Denys Rudenko, the man wearing the blue sweatshirt in the video.

The men sheltered there overnight. By the morning of March 4, they realized that an escape was impossible. “We are surrounded,” Mr. Rudenko wrote to his friend. “For now we are hiding. They are shooting from armored vehicles and heavy caliber.”

The witnesses said they saw the group of captives in the parking lot in front of the Russian base with shirts pulled over their heads. Yura Razhik, 57, who lives in front of the office building, said some had their hands tied. The Russian soldiers made them kneel down and then shot one of the men, Vitaliy Karpenko, 28, almost immediately, Mr. Skyba said. Mr. Razhik said he also witnessed the shooting.

Mr. Skyba and another captive, Andriy Verbovyi, were then taken inside the building, he said, where they were questioned and beaten before Mr. Verbovyi was shot and killed. The soldiers took Mr. Skyba back to the parking lot, where the other checkpoint guards were still being held.

At one point, one of the checkpoint guards confessed to the Russians that they were fighters, Mr. Skyba said, and that man was eventually let go. He is now under investigation by Ukrainian authorities, according to a local military commander and investigators; a government document seen by The Times specifies it is for “high treason.”

“I was shot and I fell down. The bullet went into my side,” Mr. Skyba said. Photos he shared of his injuries show an entry and exit wound in the left side of his abdomen. A doctor in Bucha who treated his injury and a medical report reviewed by The Times confirmed the injury.

“I fell down and I pretended to be dead,” he said. “I didn’t move and didn’t breathe. It was cold outside and you could see people’s breath.”

The bodies of the men killed in the parking lot and inside the building were brought to the courtyard and, together with the six other victims, would lie there for nearly a month.

Four weeks later, after Russian forces had withdrawn from Bucha, Times reporters visited the scene of the executions. The wall and steps of the building were pockmarked by bullet holes. On the other side of the courtyard, scattered a few feet from where the bodies lay, were spent 7.62x54R cartridge casings, used in the Soviet-designed PK-series machine guns and Dragunov sniper rifles commonly used by Russian troops. The Times also found an unfired 7.62x54R round inside the building.