For Ukrainian journalists who recently visited the liberated lands of Karabakh — its symbolic capital Shusha and its administrative center Khankendi — the experience was more than just a trip. It was a moment of clarity, a revelation that justice does exist in the world. But like Azerbaijan, Ukraine must fight for it — without waiting for the world’s permission.
What Azerbaijan accomplished under the leadership of President and Commander-in-Chief Ilham Aliyev stands as a masterclass in strategic patience, military discipline, and national unity. During the 44-day Patriotic War of 2020 and the one-day anti-terror operation in September 2023, Azerbaijani forces decisively reclaimed their territories, dismantling Armenian separatist structures and sending Russian so-called “peacekeepers” packing.
Moscow’s long-term ambitions — backed by local proxies and wrapped in the cloak of frozen diplomacy — were shattered by the “Iron Fist” of a nation that refused to compromise its territorial integrity.
When President Aliyev was asked by Ukrainian journalist Dmytro Gordon what advice he could offer Ukraine as the leader of a victorious nation, his response wasn’t just diplomatic — it was a doctrine.
“Our victory is a just victory and a complete one. It proves that justice exists — you just have to fight for it. You must work every day, push every day, and if the final decision rests with you, then you must dedicate your life to that goal. Only then is victory possible.”
His other mantra — “Never surrender, and never accept the violation of your territorial integrity” — has already entered the lexicon of resistance movements far beyond Baku.
Aliyev’s words are now echoed not only in Kyiv but also in other post-Soviet states still haunted by the specter of Moscow’s imperial ambitions. They’ve resonated in Western capitals too, and predictably, they’ve triggered a wave of outrage in the Kremlin’s echo chambers. Russian Z-channels are in panic mode, calling Azerbaijan a “new enemy,” warning of a “Caspian war,” and even floating calls to bomb Baku. It’s hysteria — but it’s telling.
What unnerves Moscow is the precedent: Azerbaijan did not wait for global consensus. It didn’t rely on UN resolutions or hollow peacekeeping missions. It created facts on the ground — and changed the course of its history.
This, of course, is a prerogative the Kremlin has long claimed as its own — building “realities on the ground” through occupation, demographic engineering, and sheer brute force. So when Aliyev suggests that Ukraine should do the same — reclaim its territory by any means necessary — it’s seen not just as encouragement, but as a direct challenge to Putin’s war logic.
At a time when Donald Trump is pressuring Moscow toward a ceasefire, Aliyev’s message to Ukraine — don’t wait, create your own reality — feels like a lifeline, a gulp of water in the diplomatic desert.
Azerbaijan’s post-liberation reconstruction of Karabakh has also inspired Ukraine. With airports, highways, and modern cities rising from the ashes of three decades of occupation, Baku has shown that liberation is only the beginning — building peace is the real triumph.
This is more than a blueprint for victory. It’s a warning to Russia: the age of impunity is over. And it’s a call to the world — that sovereignty, once restored, can be rebuilt into something even stronger.
Azerbaijan has done it. Ukraine can too.
