Formations

The national military of Armenia — rebuilt around the lessons of the 2020 defeat, under a state repositioning its security away from a frozen Russian alliance.

The national military of Azerbaijan — the region's best-funded force, proven in 2020 and 2023, built on oil revenue, Turkish partnership and Israeli precision systems.

Georgia's national military — NATO-partnered and Western-trained through two decades, under a government whose westward orientation is now in question.

The armed force of the former Nagorno-Karabakh Armenian authorities — victorious in the first war, broken in the second, disarmed after the September 2023 offensive and dissolved with the entity it defended. Historical record.

The ~2,000-strong contingent deployed under the November 2020 trilateral statement along the Lachin corridor and the Armenian-populated remnant of Karabakh — withdrawn ahead of mandate in April–June 2024. Historical record.

Türkiye's security relationship with Azerbaijan — the Shusha Declaration alliance framework, joint exercises, training and defence-industrial ties that were decisive in 2020. Structural description of a partnership, not a deployed force.

The armed and interior structures of the de facto Abkhaz authorities — built in the 1992–93 war, operating alongside a Russian garrison whose presence defines the entity's security. Internationally, the territory is recognised as part of Georgia.

The small armed and interior structures of the de facto South Ossetian authorities — closely integrated with the Russian garrison and, under the May 2026 treaty, moving toward formal openness to Russian personnel. Internationally, the territory is recognised as part of Georgia.

A navigation grouping, not a command: Russia's publicly documented military presence in the region — the Gyumri base in Armenia, the garrisons in Abkhazia and South Ossetia, the withdrawn Karabakh peacekeepers, and the North Caucasus security structures. Described at structural level only.

The security structures built around the Kadyrov system — Rosgvardia regiments recruited in Chechnya, republican police formations and Akhmat-branded volunteer units — loyal personally to the republic's leadership. Described at structural level only.

The EU's unarmed civilian monitoring mission, deployed since October 2008 along the administrative boundary lines with Abkhazia and South Ossetia — denied access to the territories themselves, a limitation its own reporting states.