Mother of Ukrainian officer killed while protecting Azerbaijanis in Karabakh: When war started in Ukraine, we were invited to Baku

Mikhail Gorbachev, who led the country before the USSR collapse, encouraged the emergence of separatist conflicts in several parts of the empire, one of which was the Karabakh region of Azerbaijan. Armenians from Armenia and abroad started aggression against the territorial integrity of Azerbaijan together with ethnic Armenians living in Karabakh. Even though the Soviet military units in the region at the time committed injustices in this conflict, officers from other nations among them were remembered for their heroism. For example, Ukrainian officer Oleg Babak from the village of Viktoria, Ukraine’s Poltava region, who died in April 1991 while protecting civilian Azerbaijanis from Armenian militants.

Report's Eastern Europe office visited the family of the Ukrainian officer.

At that time, as an officer of the Internal Troops of the USSR, Oleg Babak, who was on temporary duty in the Gubadli and Lachin regions of the Azerbaijan USSR, sometimes even strongly objected to the fact that his fellow soldiers turned a blind eye to the actions of Armenian bandits. According to his mother and witnesses, he sometimes rushed forward alone without receiving a command, protected the peaceful residents of Gubadli from Armenian militants and helped them to evacuate. He died in a battle while protecting civilian Azerbaijanis from Armenian forces. Oleg's mother says her son was killed by one of the officers of Armenian descent, whom Oleg studied with at the higher military school. Unfortunately, his mother does not remember the name of that Armenian. Oleg Babak was the only child of the family, he was single. Currently, his parents live alone in the village of Victoria, Poltava region. The state of Azerbaijan also allocated a monthly allowance for the family of the Ukrainian officer who died for the sovereignty of the country.

Oleg’s mother Nadezhda Babak told Report:

“My son was born in 1967. He was a very compassionate, quiet boy. He never had problems with his teachers and classmates at school. Oleg loved kids very much. He went for a walk with them. He spent his childhood playing with plasticine and toy tanks. He loved watching military programs on TV and wanted to be a soldier.

"After Oleg completed vocational training in 1991, a high-ranking officer from Kyiv called him for future service. Oleg asked him to be sent to wherever there is a tense situation. So, they send him to Karabakh. On April 8, 1991, we were informed about his death. He served in the Gubadli district. My son saved women, children and a forester there. Later, he urged other soldiers to retreat, but despite the insistence of the soldiers, he remained in the battle zone. According to what I heard from Armenians, he was shot by an officer with whom he studied at the military school. Two officers who served with him now live in Ukraine.

"Azerbaijanis sent us lots of letters and expressed their gratitude. After the war in Ukraine started last year, an Azerbaijani journalist wrote to us from Baku. He offered us to come to Azerbaijan and stay at his house and said that he would provide us with everything. But we didn't go. I would like to thank all the Azerbaijanis who contacted us and offered their help. A few months ago, Azerbaijan started paying us allowances. To my husband (Oleg's father) and me.

"Everyone should help and support each other. I express my gratitude to President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev and other persons for their support. Today, along with other nations, Azerbaijanis are also fighting for Ukraine. Like my son, they are on the right side. I wish them strength and health.”

We found Colonel Ihor Shapovalov, who was the commander of Oleg's division in the rank of captain, and who is currently on reserve at the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Ukraine, in Kyiv. He is also from Ukraine, after the collapse of the USSR, he returned to his homeland and worked for a long time in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine. During our conversation, surprisingly, he said that he did not remember who killed Oleg. It is even strange that at that time, he cautiously expressed the fact that those armed men who raided the territory of Azerbaijan from Armenia were Armenians:

"After graduating from the Higher Political College of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the USSR in 1989, Oleg Babak was appointed the deputy commander of the 11th division of the political unit in the 21st special brigade of the Internal Troops of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the USSR. I was the commander of the unit at the time. Together we were performing the tasks set. We arrived in Azerbaijan in March 1991 to fulfill the tasks assigned to us by the command. This included maintaining public order, preventing the Armenian population from attacking Azerbaijanis along the Armenian-Azerbaijani border. We are talking about Lachin and Gubadli districts, where we mainly carried out our tasks. On April 7, 1991, fighting took place in Yukhari Jibikli village of the Gubadli district, located on the border with Armenia, and Oleg Babak was killed. The clashes occurred with Armenian militants. True, we did not know what nationality they were at first. There were other nations among them. For example, we conducted an operation on May 9 and detained 42 militants. Not all of them were Armenians. But they attacked Azerbaijanis. Among them were prisoners, thieves, former soldiers, etc. Oleg Babak's body was found by his friend and comrade-in-arms. I was told that even when his body was being taken away in an armored fighting vehicle, they (Armenian militants - ed.) fired at it. Oleg Babak was a good friend and an educated person. He had great reputation among the personnel. It was a pleasure to serve with him.”