Updated Dec. 12, 2023 at 10:15 p.m.
In late November, the Russian Ministry of Defense proposed officially modifying the army recruitment medical assessment to remove certain diseases if they don’t notably affect a recruit’s service capability.
But a troubling practice has already been emerging in the military, wherein soldiers with obvious war-induced injuries are being considered fit, forming “convalescent” regiments within the Russian army. Conscripts part of “recovery regiments” after injuries or illnesses have reportedly been sent back to active combat units without proper medical examination or care.
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Mikhail, a 49-year-old resident from Moscow — whose name has been changed for security reasons — unexpectedly became involved in the conflict in Ukraine in October last year. Despite serving as a conscript more than three decades ago, he received a call-up for “military training” during the mobilization. Irina, Mikhail’s wife, mentioned that her husband had confidence in avoiding war due to his age, assured by the prospect of a brief two-month skills refresher, and nothing more. However, circumstances proved otherwise and he ended up being sent off to the frontline.
“In April 2023, he was wounded: a drone dropped a grenade on them,” Irina, said. “A perforating shrapnel wound, a hole through the bone. Ligaments, menisci, bone were all damaged. The hole in the leg is growing every month, and there is major inflammation,” Independent medical reports have confirmed the severity of Mikhail’s injuries.
Post-injury, Mikhail was moved to the 4th Guards Tank Kantemirovskaya Division in Naro-Fominsk near Moscow and was assigned to a so-called convalescent regiment. These units, created for wounded military personnel, operate across Russia’s military districts.
Finishing them off?
Despite sustaining severe injuries, Mikhail never received adequate medical attention for the hole in his leg.
“Before undergoing the military medical commission, he was sent to doctors in Podolsk, just south of Moscow. Last Monday, a traumatologist, without even examining him, assigned Mikhail a fitness category of “B” with the wording “he can travel with restrictions to the special military operation,” said Mikhail’s wife.
He’s withered, and has turned dark, and lost his teeth. They’ve simply broken him.
Due to his injuries, Mikhail can only walk with a cane, yet he is being reassigned to an assault brigade.
Mikhail also lost all his teeth during his time at the front — a concern that, according to his wife, is of little priority to the doctors and command.
“In just 14 months, my handsome, strong man turned into an old, sick grandfather,” lamented Irina. “He’s withered, and has turned dark, and lost his teeth. They’ve simply broken him.”
Irina mentioned that there are potentially several hundred soldiers in the convalescent regiment likely to be sent to the front in the coming weeks: “Every day, the ‘Kalichi’ [Russian military slang for the sick and wounded] are sent back to the Northern Military District — limping and toothless. There’s no one there to provide proper care. Their only goal seems to be finishing off those who haven’t already died.”
In February 2023, the Russian Ministry of Defense stated that only individuals categorized as “G” due to their wounds or illness will be permitted to return home. After their departure, they will have to undergo a review again and potentially return to the front, reported Russian news website 29.ru. As a result of miscategorization, in June, a mobilized officer with shrapnel near his heart was sent back to the front from a Ministry of Defense hospital.
Shoot with the other hand
Communities on the VKontakte platform expressed doubts about receiving proper treatment in the convalescent regiment. “They’re unlikely to be allowed to go home from there. They’ll quickly undergo the review and be sent back,” one person commented.
“He had three fingers torn off. They told him to learn to shoot with the other hand,” writes Alexandra, whose husband Oleg, a 44-year-old tank driver, faced a similar situation. “He found himself at the front during mobilization, after thinking he’d be exempt because of his age, and a ‘B’ fitness category. The military registration and enlistment office declared him fit and assigned him to serve as a senior mechanic-driver of a tank.”
Alexandra and Oleg agreed to find a way to get him discharged from the war: During his summer leave, she took him to civilian doctors who confirmed the severity of his state. After this, Oleg reported his medical condition to the command, bypassing the military commission. However, he was placed back in the convalescent regiment of the Kantemirovsky division.
The urologist suddenly categorized him as “fit” for service.
“For three months, he received no treatment. Eventually, they claimed he had only a mild form of gastritis and that his ulcer scars had miraculously vanished. He was categorized as ‘B’ and began preparations for deployment [to the front],” recounted Alexandra.
Doctors’ orders
Relatives of military personnel in St. Petersburg revealed that doctors openly acknowledged receiving orders to send injured soldiers back to the front. Natalya, the mother of 36-year-old contract soldier Andrei from the Arkhangelsk region, told Vazhnyye Istorii about her son, treated at the Military Medical Academy in St. Petersburg after sustaining injuries near Bakhmut in September. The bullet had pierced his bladder, causing damage to internal organs in the abdomen and pelvic area.
During his more than three-month stay at the Military Medical Academy, Andrei underwent 10 surgeries, including three on the walls of his torn bladder.
“Less than a month after the last operation, the urologist suddenly categorized him as ‘fit for service’ with Category ‘A,’ saying, ‘We have orders.’” Andrei’s mother recounted. “But he’s seriously ill. If he were to catch a cold, that would be the end for him … He left the doctor, called me, and was nearly in tears. He tried to run after the bus, took five steps, and collapsed.”
The only test prescribed for Andrei at the clinic before the Military Medical Commission was a blood test, taken from a drop of blood from his finger. However, when he obtained a CT scan himself, it revealed fragments in his pelvic area and leg.
Andrei currently wears a bandage and relies on taking constant painkillers. He is scheduled for another operation to address a postoperative hernia and to have a mesh implanted. The medical commission is set to make a final decision on his health next week.
