On 3 May 2021, Armenian sources began reporting that the dome and the cross of Ghazanchetsots Cathedral had been removed. After an outcry from the Armenia side,  Azerbaijani authorities issued a statement saying the cathedral was under reconstruction to "restore" its "original" form, without specifying what they intended by the "original" style. The Armenian Foreign Ministry called these actions of Azerbaijan "deplorable" and an act of "vandalism aimed at depriving the Shushi Cathedral of its Armenian identity."
