Since the loss of the city during the 2020 Nagorno-Karabakh war in the Battle of Shusha, there were questions in Armenian society over the continued celebration of the holiday. Former Prime Minister of Artsakh Anushavan Danielyan wrote in an op-ed that celebrating the holiday "with a capitulator who surrendered Shushi", referring to Prime Minister Pashinyan, is "tantamount to double humiliation of our people." "Hayastani Hanrapetutyun", the official government newspaper, argued in favor of continuing the tradition. MP Sasun Mikayelyan speculated that clashes could occur should Pashinyan arrive at Yerablur Military Pantheon on the day of liberation of Shushi. In his congratulatory message on the holiday, Pashinyan declared that although the nation "mourn the captivity of Shushi", Armenians must celebrate the holiday as it "is one of the glorious chapters in Armenia’s modern history".