On 12 December 2022, under the guise of "environmental protests", Azerbaijan launched a blockade of the Republic of Artsakh. The Azerbaijani government sent citizens claiming to be "eco-activists" to block the Lachin corridor, the only road connecting Artsakh to the outside world and to Armenia. Civil servants, disguised military personnel, members of pro-government NGOs, and youth organisations were among the so-called 'eco-activists', none of whom appear to have taken part in previous environmental protests in Azerbaijan. The blockade continues to have severe consequences for the population; importation of food, fuel, and medicine is blocked, and the 120,000 residents of the region are trapped, creating a humanitarian crisis. Shortages of food, medicine, and electricity are widespread with emergency reserves being rationed alongside massive unemployment. During the beginning of the blockade, Azerbaijan cut off the only natural gas supply to Artsakh for several days, and at several other times during the ongoing blockade. On March 22, 2023, the gas supply is stopped again․
On 10 January, the only high-voltage power line supplying Artsakh was damaged, with Azerbaijan preventing repair teams from accessing the damaged section. Artsakh authorities have resorted to daily 6-hour blackouts in order to ration the limited local electricity production. On 12 January, Internet access in Artsakh was disrupted due to damage to the only broadband internet cables leading into the region, with Artsakh officials accusing Azerbaijan of deliberately severing the connection. Internet was restored after Armenian specialists repaired the damage the next day.
Shortages of food and medicine are widespread, and emergency reserves are being rationed. Being the only road to the outside world and to Armenia, Artsakh residents depend on the Lachin corridor for supplies of food, medicine, fuel and other essential goods. Before the blockade, the region received 400 tons of food and medicine from Armenia daily. There is massive unemployment. Nearly one fifth of all businesses in Artsakh have suspended operations due to the blockade. On 20 January, Artsakh authorities announced a coupon-based food rationing system that allocates one kilogram of pasta, buckwheat, rice, and sugar and a litre of cooking oil per month.
December 2022, only vehicles belonging to the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) and the Russian peacekeepers have been able to pass through the Lachin corridor. The government of Armenia has sent limited amounts of essential supplies (medicines, hospital food, infant formulas), transported by ICRC trucks. The ICRC has transferred patients to Armenia for tertiary medical or surgical care. Since Azerbaijan's installation of a checkpoint, the ICRC has reported that its ability to transport people across the blockade for medical care has worsened.
