Five years ago, the road to Shusha was opened: on the day of the liberation of Hadrut

It has been 5 years since the liberation of the village of Hadrut in the Khojavend region from occupation.

In an address to the people on October 9, 2020, the Supreme Commander-in-Chief, President Ilham Aliyev, stated that the liberation of the village of Hadrut from occupation is our historic victory. "Azerbaijan is liberating the occupied lands. We can say that good news comes from the front every day. Every day, our soldiers and officers carry out combat missions with honor. At the same time, they are taking strategic heights and entering more favorable positions. Thus, the operational plan is fully implemented, it is based on modern combat principles. Both in terms of logistical equipment and combat training, the Azerbaijani army has a complete advantage on the battlefield today," the Azerbaijani President said.

Hadrut was liberated from the Armenian occupation as a result of the counter-offensive operation launched by the Azerbaijani army on September 27. The liberation of Hadrut is considered one of the major turning points of the 44-day war. As a result of the operation, a significant amount of enemy manpower and equipment was destroyed. The liberation of Hadrut was not only a severe defeat for the Armenian army, but also a great blow to the occupiers from a psychological point of view.

On March 16, 2021, the Supreme Commander-in-Chief, President Ilham Aliyev raised the national flag of Azerbaijan in the village of Hadrut.

On the first anniversary of the liberation of the village, in October 2021, the President of the country met with representatives of the public of the Khojavend district in Hadrut. At the meeting, he stressed that the Hadrut operation occupies a special place among the operations carried out during the Second Karabakh War.

"This operation was of great importance both from a military and strategic point of view. The successful completion of this operation allowed us to achieve our goal of liberating Karabakh. The location of Hadrout has a special strategic significance in this region because it is a mountainous area. The heights surrounding the village allow you to control a vast area. It was very difficult to take Hadrut from a military point of view... The significance of the Hadrut operation lies in the fact that the Armenian leadership and the Armenian army did not expect that after Jabrayil we would go in the Hadrut direction. They believed that we would move in the Fuzuli direction. Although their large manpower was stationed in Hadrut, they did not expect us, because from a military point of view, taking Hadrut really required a lot of dedication and professionalism. By carrying out this operation, we have once again demonstrated our strength to Armenia and the whole world. We have shown that no one and nothing can resist us, that we will liberate all our lands at any cost," the head of state said.

In December 2021, a military commando unit was opened in Hadrut. The opening of the commando military unit in Hadrut was a very important event, because the village has strategic importance and during the 44-day war its liberation played a significant role in the final victory. This fact was emphasized by the Supreme Commander-in-Chief, President Ilham Aliyev, in his speech at the opening ceremony. He stressed that it was not by chance that Hadrut became the second settlement liberated from occupation after Jabrayil. "Everyone who is here, seeing the mountains surrounding this village, can understand what a big, difficult and honorable mission it was, because the hated enemy built powerful fortifications on all the lands that had been under occupation for 30 years, created several lines of defensive fortifications. In addition, the natural terrain of the Karabakh and East Zangezur regions was favorable for the enemy, because they gained a great military advantage by being located in these mountains, on these hills," the head of state said.

Military experts confirm the President's words. Military expert, reserve Colonel Shair Ramaldanov, the direction to Hadrut was not chosen by chance. After the liberation of Jabrayil, the roads leading to this settlement were taken under control by our attacking units. Then the Azerbaijani special forces conducted a successful operation and entered Hadrut, which opened the road to Shusha. The enemy did not expect that we would go to Hadrut after Jabrayil, the military expert noted. The Armenians were waiting for us in the direction of Fuzuli, but it was decided to go to Hadrut. Ramaldanov stressed that in the 44-day war, operational and tactical work was structured in such a way that the most promising areas were chosen for the counteroffensive, in which the enemy did not expect us in any way. Hadrut was the center of active hostilities, and after its liberation from the invaders, the Azerbaijani Armed Forces set a course for the liberation of Shusha.

It should be noted that during the Hadrut operation, as well as in general during the liberation war, the Azerbaijani Army showed great humanity towards the Armenian population. Hadrut was inhabited mainly by Armenians before the conflict, so it was not destroyed during the occupation and people continued to live there. With the outbreak of the Second Karabakh War, residents had to leave Hadrut, which found itself in the epicenter of the fighting. There were many cases when Armenians left their homes, leaving the sick and elderly there, who were then rescued by Azerbaijani servicemen. The Hadrut operation proved the words of the Supreme Commander-in-Chief that the Azerbaijani army is fighting the armed forces, not the civilian population.

The military command didn't just care about civilians. The life of every soldier was priceless, and the operations were designed and carried out in such a way that the losses of the Azerbaijani army were minimal. In contrast, for the Supreme Command of the Armenian Armed Forces, the personnel were nothing more than cannon fodder. Two years ago, the story of 76 Armenian soldiers killed during the battle for Hadrut surfaced. They were gathered from Armenia and sent to the battle zone without any training. As a result, everyone was eliminated, and the mothers of the victims are trying to punish the military officials responsible.   

Hadrut was very important for the occupiers. For a long time they could not believe in his release and hoped that they would be able to win back the situation. An ugly disinformation campaign has been launched around the liberation of Hadrut. Everyone probably remembers the fake reports of propagandist Pegov, who claimed that he was in Hadrut and the village had not been liberated. When the liberation of Hadrut could no longer be concealed, the Armenian propaganda set out to denigrate the Azerbaijani soldiers, accusing them of alleged atrocities against the villagers, vandalism, and the like. Later, separatist David Babayan, who is now sitting in the dock in Baku, loudly accused the Azerbaijani side of allegedly using tombstones from destroyed Armenian graves during the construction of the road through the liberated Hadrut. The fake was easily refuted - the road was built bypassing the Armenian cemetery.

Life is returning to Hadrut today.

In September 2025, the President of Azerbaijan visited Hadrut to get acquainted with the progress of the reconstruction works and infrastructure projects carried out here. As of today, the Hadrut hub substation and the Digital Control Center, a new military unit, the Fuzuli-Hadrut highway with a total length of 12.5 kilometers have been commissioned, a transformer station has been built, existing power lines have been restored, 8 water reservoirs have been repaired, new water, sewer and gas pipeline lines have been laid, and intra-village roads have been repaired. The necessary social infrastructure has been created in the village, including a hotel, retail and catering facilities.

Due to the continuation of reconstruction work, there is no mass return of people to Hadrut yet. So far, 10 families have returned to their ancestral lands. 79 families are planned to be resettled by the end of the year. The housing stock of the village includes 541 houses, of which 462 are in unusable condition. 79 houses are partially habitable, and 10 of them are already ready. And by the end of the year, all houses from the latter category will be restored. In addition, a new residential block of 28 two-storey private houses is being built in Hadrut.

On September 14, the head of state opened the Hadrout mosque, the foundation of which was laid with his participation in October 2021.

Hadrut became the second major settlement after Jabrayil, liberated by the Azerbaijani army in the first weeks of the war. The 44-day Patriotic War was full of brilliant victories and testimonies of great courage. The main victory was Shusha, and let's not forget that the Hadrut operation opened the way to it.