Azerbaijan has destroyed Shushi’s historic Old Armenian-Russian Cemetery in occupied Artsakh, erasing a burial ground containing medieval Armenian khachkars and 19th-century Armenian and Russian graves, according to Caucasus Heritage Watch (CHW). Satellite imagery analyzed by CHW shows that the cemetery was destroyed between May 9 and 14, 2026, amid construction of a rainwater and wastewater treatment facility in occupied Shushi. The cemetery contained at least 35 surviving tombstones dating from 1810 to 1871, documenting Armenian families, artisans, Russian military officers, physicians, civil servants and other residents of 19th-century Shushi. Among the graves was that of Vladimir Mikhailov, commander of the 42nd Jäger Regiment, who was connected to the 1826 defense of Shushi. Another Latin-language epitaph commemorated Sophia Regina Reander, who was born in Moscow. The site also contained five Armenian khachkars predating the 19th-century cemetery by centuries, demonstrating the much older Armenian presence at the site and connecting the burial ground to the medieval Armenian heritage of Artsakh. According to CHW, the cemetery survived wars, political upheaval and successive changes of rule before being destroyed under Azerbaijani control in 2026. Its destruction is the latest documented case of Armenian cultural heritage being damaged, demolished or altered across occupied Artsakh following Azerbaijan’s takeover of the region and the forced displacement of its Armenian population.