Armenian reservist criticises disorganisation and ammunition shortages in the

An Armenian reservist who took part in a 25-day mandatory reserve training has criticised the programme, alleging it was disorganised, poorly prepared, and that there were shortages of equipment and ammunition. This has led to a quick denial from the Defence Ministry, which hinted at possible legal repercussions for the reservist.

The controversy shed light on a perceived lack of transparency and increased secrecy within Armenia’s reserve system, which requires all men aged 20–55 to participate in routine training exercises.

Although a ministry official attempted to dismiss the reservist’s account by releasing a video of a ‘surprise’ visit to the exact location where the reservist Armen Ghazaryan was stationed, he also warned that further disclosures about weapons, ammunition, or troop positions could have legal implications.

In this article, published on Sunday by Hetq, Ghazaryan claimed that the programme is disorganised from its very beginning, with people usually being assigned tasks outside their specialisation, which he describes as a misallocation of resources. Ghazaryan then went on to describe the lack of ammunition, especially bullets for effective training, as well as the fact that their positions are exposed to Azerbaijani soldiers. These shortcomings, he said, reveal that the army has institutional problems.

These mandatory trainings, where reservists can choose when they would like to volunteer during the year, replaced the previous three‑month training meant to keep the military reserve up to date.

The Chief of the General Staff, Edvard Asryan, appeared in the Defence Ministry’s video, addressing the criticisms in the article one by one. Asryan explained that although some of them may be true, the overall situation is not as bad as Ghazaryan described.

Defence Ministry spokesperson Aram Torosyan added that they took the article as constructive criticism, but information about the number of weapons, their types, ammunition, and army positions is classified as confidential information, and publishing it may result in legal action.