Dressed in military fatigues, complete with helmet, bullet-proof vest and Kalashnikov, the peacekeepers stop and register all cars arriving and leaving Karabakh. Sargsyan, 53, is from Stepanakert and a veteran of three wars – the first Karabakh war in 1992-94, the April war in 2016 and this last war in 2020. “The fact that we are here now and continue to return to Karabakh is the result of Russian peacekeepers being here. “The Russian peacekeepers will not stay here forever; they might leave in five years. “Tragic incidents like this happen even now, and the Russian peacekeepers might not always be there in time,” added Serob, another resident of Askeran.