The Russian Foreign Ministry strongly denied accusations circulating on some Chinese news sites abroad that Chinese students studying in Russia are forced to sign contracts to serve in the country's army.
In a statement posted on the official Telegram channel, the Russian Foreign Ministry affirmed that the information saying that foreign students, especially Chinese students, must participate in military service when studying in Russia is completely untrue.
According to this agency, some websites such as news. creaders. net, backchina. com and the 360doc. com portal have posted articles with shocking headlines, including headlines such as "Signing contracts and dying or not signing contracts and returning home: 66,000 Chinese men in Russia are on the verge of fate". Moscow believes that these contents are sensational and seriously misleading.
The Russian Foreign Ministry emphasized that studying at universities in Russia does not create any military service for foreign students. According to Russian law, foreign citizens are not required to participate in military service just because they are studying or living in this country.
Claims that international students have to serve in the Russian army due to studying here are completely fabricated" - the statement stated.
The Russian side also said that this false information seems to be released to incite negative psychology in public opinion, especially towards the Chinese student community and their families.
For many years, Russia has remained one of the popular study abroad destinations for Chinese students. Russian training programs attract tens of thousands of international students thanks to reasonable costs, many strong engineering and science majors and government scholarship programs.
The Russian Foreign Ministry affirmed that the country always welcomes international students, including many Chinese students who are assessed as having good academic qualifications, a spirit of progress and actively contributing to the academic environment.
The Russian Foreign Service also believes that the above allegations are part of a "hybrid" information campaign aimed at tarnishing Russia's image on the international stage. According to Moscow, these campaigns often use rumors or false information to cause public confusion, especially in the context of increasing geopolitical tensions.
The statement of the Russian Foreign Ministry emphasized that whether foreign students study in Russia through government scholarships or self-funded programs, they are completely not obligated to serve in the Russian army.
The Russian side affirmed that its international education programs are still being implemented normally and pledged to continue to create favorable conditions for international students to study, research and live in Russia.
