A soldier from Azerbaijan was killed today in a sniper attack by the Armenian armed forces on the border between the two countries, the Ministry of Defense of Azerbaijan said, while the Armenian authorities denied the incident.

"A soldier was killed this afternoon" in Kelbajar district. The attack came from the village of Kut in Armenia, Azerbaijan's Defense Ministry said, adding that its armed forces were taking retaliatory measures.

Armenia has denied any involvement, and its Ministry of Defense confirmed on Telegram that the statement that "Armenian units opened fire on Azerbaijani positions does not correspond to reality."

Following last week's lightning offensive by Azerbaijan and the capitulation of Armenian separatists from Nagorno-Karabakh, the enclave's authorities on Thursday passed a historic decree to dissolve it on January 1.

In total, after the military offensive of Azerbaijan, about 600 dead were reported, while about 200 soldiers from both sides died in the fighting.

Almost all residents of Nagorno-Karabakh left the area and went to Armenia due to fear of reprisals from Azerbaijan.

Armenia and Azerbaijan went to war in 2020 over control of Nagorno-Karabakh, and the conflict ended with a peace deal with the help of Russia, which recognized the victory of Azerbaijani forces.

Nagorno-Karabakh, a mountainous territory inhabited mainly by Armenians, broke away from Azerbaijan, leading to a war that claimed 30.000 lives in the 1990s.