Armenian Defense Ministry declines to say how many returnees from Russia were called up for military training

Armenia's Defense Ministry said it did not separately track how many citizens returning from Russia were called up for mandatory military training, responding to an inquiry from Panorama.am.

The ministry said it kept no separate records of Armenian citizens liable for military service who returned from Russia between June 1 and June 7 and were issued notices to participate in 25-day reserve training exercises.

Panorama.am had requested data on how many Armenian citizens subject to military service who arrived from abroad during that period received call-up notices and reported for the exercises, including how many had traveled from Russia.

In its written response, the ministry said information is not processed according to a person's country of arrival and therefore no separate accounting exists for citizens returning from Russia.

The ministry also said the total number of participants in the reserve training exercises is classified and cannot be disclosed publicly.

According to the June 30 response, the requested information "is not processed in the Ministry of Defense's information systems under separate criteria." It added that, under Government Decision No. 797-L adopted on May 16, 2024, information on the number of participants in reserve training exercises is classified and exempt from public disclosure.

The inquiry follows media reports in early June alleging that Armenia's Military Police had been serving notices for the 25-day reserve training exercises to Armenian citizens arriving from Russia at border checkpoints ahead of the June 7 parliamentary elections.

Defense Minister Suren Papikyan previously said he could not rule out that such notices had been issued.

"Does an Armenian citizen arriving from Russia who is liable for military service have no obligations to the homeland? Of course, I cannot rule it out," Papikyan said. "The same applies to those arriving from France, the United States and other countries."