Artsakh Blockade

Last updated: May 29, 2026

The Artsakh blockade began in December 2022 when Azerbaijani activists, later joined by military personnel, established a checkpoint on the Lachin Corridor , the only road connecting Nagorno Karabakh to Armenia. Over the following nine months, the blockade progressively tightened, cutting off gas, electricity, food deliveries, and medical evacuations. By the summer of 2023, the population of Artsakh was facing acute food shortages and a humanitarian emergency.

The blockade drew condemnation from Western governments and was the subject of proceedings at the International Court of Justice, which issued provisional measures ordering Azerbaijan to ensure free movement through the corridor. Those measures were not enforced. Russia’s peacekeeping contingent, which held a mandate to guarantee passage under the 2020 ceasefire, took no action to reopen the road. The United States and European Union issued statements but applied no meaningful pressure.

Azerbaijan’s military offensive on September 19, 2023 ended the blockade by ending the existence of Armenian Nagorno Karabakh entirely. Within three weeks, nearly the entire population of 150,000 Armenians had been driven from Artsakh to Armenia — what human rights organizations and international observers have characterized as ethnic cleansing. Groong covered the blockade in real time throughout its duration — the humanitarian conditions inside Artsakh, the diplomatic failures, and the eventual collapse.

Groong episodes that include this tag

Below are all Groong episodes tagged with Artsakh Blockade.

Kevork Hagopjian - Armenia’s Church-State Showdown | Ep 504, Jan 13, 2026 [EP504]

Posted on Tuesday, Jan 13, 2026 | Category: Armenia, Armenian Church, Politics, Artsakh, Nagorno Karabakh, Artsakh Blockade, Human Rights, Russia, Turkey, Iran, Azerbaijan, Lebanon, NATO, European Union | Series: cog, video

Guest:

Topics:

  • The Legal Architecture: Autonomy, Exclusive Mission, and State Neutrality
  • Engineering Parallel, Schismatic Structures
  • Criminal Law as Leverage
  • Bern in Action and Reaction
  • The Deeper Stakes: National Identity

Episode 504 | Recorded: January 12, 2026

#Armenia #ArmenianChurch #Etchmiadzin #HumanRights #ReligiousFreedom

Kevork Hagopjian - Armenia’s Church-State Showdown | Ep 504, Jan 13, 2026 [EP504]

Posted on Tuesday, Jan 13, 2026 | Category: Armenia, Armenian Church, Politics, Artsakh, Nagorno Karabakh, Artsakh Blockade, Human Rights, Russia, Turkey, Iran, Azerbaijan, Lebanon, NATO, European Union

Guest:

Topics:

  • The Legal Architecture: Autonomy, Exclusive Mission, and State Neutrality
  • Engineering Parallel, Schismatic Structures
  • Criminal Law as Leverage
  • Bern in Action and Reaction
  • The Deeper Stakes: National Identity

Episode 504 | Recorded: January 12, 2026

#Armenia #ArmenianChurch #Etchmiadzin #HumanRights #ReligiousFreedom

Fr. Serop Azarian - Armenian Church Under Attack | Ep 503, Jan 11, 2026 [EP503]

Posted on Sunday, Jan 11, 2026 | Category: Armenia, Armenian Church, Politics, Artsakh, Nagorno Karabakh, Artsakh Blockade, Armenian Genocide, Georgia, Turkey, Genocide, Azerbaijan, Russia, Iran, Syria, Ukraine, Israel, NATO, India | Series: cog, video

Guest:

Topics:

  • Pashinyan Attacks: Geopolitics or Vendetta?
  • Renegade Bishops: Demands and Narratives
  • Stolen Church Property
  • From Christmas to Easter

Episode 503 | Recorded: January 9, 2026

#ArmenianApostolicChurch #ArmenianChurch #Garegin #Catholicos #NikolPashinyan #ArmenianDiaspora

Fr. Serop Azarian - Armenian Church Under Attack | Ep 503, Jan 11, 2026 [EP503]

Posted on Sunday, Jan 11, 2026 | Category: Armenia, Armenian Church, Politics, Artsakh, Nagorno Karabakh, Artsakh Blockade, Armenian Genocide, Georgia, Turkey, Genocide, Azerbaijan, Russia, Iran, Syria, Ukraine, Israel, NATO, India

Guest:

Topics:

  • Pashinyan Attacks: Geopolitics or Vendetta?
  • Renegade Bishops: Demands and Narratives
  • Stolen Church Property
  • From Christmas to Easter

Episode 503 | Recorded: January 9, 2026

#ArmenianApostolicChurch #ArmenianChurch #Garegin #Catholicos #NikolPashinyan #ArmenianDiaspora

Fyodor Lukyanov - Russia in Evolving Global Geopolitics | Ep 502, Jan 9, 2026 [EP502]

Posted on Friday, Jan 9, 2026 | Category: Iran, Russia, Armenia, Israel, Politics, China, Ukraine, Armenian Church, Artsakh Blockade, BRICS, European Union, NATO, Azerbaijan | Series: cog, video

Guest:

Topics:

  • Venezuela
  • Ukraine War
  • Russia-Iran Relations
  • TRIPP and Russian-Armenian Relations

Episode 502 | Recorded: January 8, 2026

#FyodorLukyanov #RussiaGeopolitics #UkraineWar #IranIsrael #VenezuelaCrisis #TRIPP

Fyodor Lukyanov - Russia in Evolving Global Geopolitics | Ep 502, Jan 9, 2026 [EP502]

Posted on Friday, Jan 9, 2026 | Category: Iran, Russia, Armenia, Israel, Politics, China, Ukraine, Armenian Church, Artsakh Blockade, BRICS, European Union, NATO, Azerbaijan

Guest:

Topics:

  • Venezuela
  • Ukraine War
  • Russia-Iran Relations
  • TRIPP and Russian-Armenian Relations

Episode 502 | Recorded: January 8, 2026

#FyodorLukyanov #RussiaGeopolitics #UkraineWar #IranIsrael #VenezuelaCrisis #TRIPP

Transcript: Fyodor Lukyanov - Russia in Evolving Global Geopolitics | Ep 502, Jan 9, 2026 [EP502]

Posted on Friday, Jan 9, 2026 | Category: Iran, Russia, Armenia, Israel, Politics, China, Ukraine, Armenian Church, Artsakh Blockade, BRICS, European Union, NATO, Azerbaijan, Transcript

Fyodor Lukyanov joins Groong to discuss how Moscow reads a fast-shifting global landscape, from the U.S. raid in Venezuela and maritime seizures at sea, to Trump’s Greenland rhetoric, the stalled endgame in Ukraine, the likelihood of a renewed Israel-Iran war, and how TRIPP and “unblocking” disputes in Armenia’s south fit into Russia’s regional priorities.

Diana Mkrtchyan - Ojakh, the Other Side of Silence - a Marvel to Behold | Ep 499, Dec 30, 2025 [EP499]

Posted on Tuesday, Dec 30, 2025 | Category: Arts, Armenia, Artsakh, Nagorno Karabakh, Artsakh Blockade, Armenian Genocide, Genocide, Russia, Iran, Turkey, Georgia, Israel, Syria | Series: tcc

Guest Host:

Guest:

Topics:

  • Diana Mkrtchyan’s personal and artistic journey
  • The origins of Ojakh in Erhan Arik’s photographic work
  • Filming the final testimonies of Armenian Genocide survivors
  • Ethical and technical challenges of documenting trauma
  • The erasure of Ojakh from official cultural promotion in Armenia
  • Cinema as historical record and moral witness
  • Mkrtchyan’s Artsakh footage during the blockade

Episode 499 | Recorded: December 27, 2025

Diana Mkrtchyan - Ojakh, the Other Side of Silence - a Marvel to Behold | Ep 499, Dec 30, 2025 [EP499]

Posted on Tuesday, Dec 30, 2025 | Category: Arts, Armenia, Artsakh, Nagorno Karabakh, Artsakh Blockade, Armenian Genocide, Genocide, Russia, Iran, Turkey, Georgia, Israel, Syria

Guest Host:

Guest:

Topics:

  • Diana Mkrtchyan’s personal and artistic journey
  • The origins of Ojakh in Erhan Arik’s photographic work
  • Filming the final testimonies of Armenian Genocide survivors
  • Ethical and technical challenges of documenting trauma
  • The erasure of Ojakh from official cultural promotion in Armenia
  • Cinema as historical record and moral witness
  • Mkrtchyan’s Artsakh footage during the blockade

Episode 499 | Recorded: December 27, 2025