The town of Shusha was captured by Azerbaijani forces by November 10, 2020, when a trilateral armistice agreement was reached between Armenia, Azerbaijan and Russia. On November 14 a photo emerged online showing graffiti on the cathedral's wall. Armenia's Ministry of Culture released a statement claiming that there was already evidence of vandalism against the cathedral. The Armenian Church described the alleged vandalism as desecration and strongly condemned it as an "expression of obvious vandalism and intolerance."