Hovik Stepanyan, the father of Zaven Stepanyan, who died in the 44-day Artsakh war unleashed by Azerbaijan, says that his son was ready to serve in order to pay his debt to the homeland.

“My son had many goals, he wanted to start a business, buy a car. He said, ‘I will do everything for my mother, you will not need anything,” his mother, Liana Vardanyan says.

Zaven was drafted into the army in July 2019, served in Martakert, 4 months later was transferred to Mataghis.

“Then that unfortunate war started. He spent a month in chaos and fires. He fought in the hottest spots and saw everything,” the father says.

According to the parents, they later found out that their child had fought in the hottest spots; he had always calmed them, saying that they were hiding, they were not in danger.

The mother says with sorrow that Zaven learned the news of the death of his closest friend, then the other friend died, during whose funeral they learned about Zaven’s death.

His friend Gevorg Srapyan says that Zaven received a chest injury, spent a few days in Stepanakert hospital, then returned to the battlefield.

“He said; swear that you will not tell my family, and I was not able to say either. My friend had gone to fight wounded. Being wounded he took out man of the pit. “The surviving boy’s sister called me and said that her brother had seen Zaven’s photos and learned that he had died and started crying and saying that Zaven had saved his life,” he said.

Zaven Stepanyan was born on 26 May, 2001. He died in the battles for the defense of the homeland on 27 October, 2020, from an explosion of a shell.