Kremlin faces backlash for deploying unfit soldiers back to front
Ukraine and Russia are grappling with significant staffing issues in their armed forces. There are reports from both sides of conscripts being captured on the streets. However, there's a notable difference: the Kremlin doesn't shy away from enlisting disabled individuals and those recovering from injuries.
While Kremlin propaganda consistently asserts that recruiting volunteers is not an issue, the incentives for signing up continually increase. Another raise occurred in February, marking the fourth increase in the past year. The Russians are doing everything possible to maintain an average of 30,000 new monthly army contracts over the last year.
This level of new enlistments indicates that the mobilized and volunteers are just barely covering the monthly losses the army has suffered in Ukraine over the past six months.
The Kremlin is making every effort to avoid declaring a general mobilization and admitting that the army is struggling with personnel replenishment and that the "special military operation" is not proceeding as planned. As a result, roundups are occurring more frequently, even in hospitals and rehabilitation centers.
Roundups of the disabled
Aleksei Gauna sustained injuries on the front, resulting in severe leg injuries that have left him permanently disabled. Consequently, he was officially recognized as having a third-degree disability by the State Bureau of Medical and Social Examinations of the Volgograd Oblast.
Upon returning from rehabilitation and submitting his documents to his unit, he was arrested by the military police, who labeled him a deserter. The military prosecutor's decision resulted in him being assigned to a penal battalion and sent back to the front. Since then, all contact with him has been lost.
Gauna's story, initially reported in June of last year, could have been seen as an isolated case, but it isn't. Since then, there have been increasing reports, primarily involving contract soldiers who, after recovery, appeared before medical commissions and, instead of being discharged, were sent back to the front. More and more videos, recorded by soldiers, document such abuses.
In the village of Troitskaya, in the Republic of Ingushetia, convalescents from the 503rd Guards Motorized Rifle Regiment who appeared for a medical commission were loaded onto trucks and taken back to the trenches. Comments on Telegram channels suggest that the command believes the wounded will recover at the front, and if they can already move around, they are fit for battle.
A similar situation occurred in Yekaterinburg. However, there were dozens of wounded and maimed soldiers who rebelled and refused to return to fight. The military police intervened, and they are all already in Luhansk Oblast today.
Removed from hospitals
Individuals arriving for military commissions often aim to get a discharge entry in their military book to qualify for compensation and a possible pension, unknowingly entering a treacherous situation. However, sometimes the authorities take matters into their own hands.
In Yeysk, located by the Sea of Azov, soldiers were taken from the hospital and forced into vehicles meant to transport them to Donbas. According to Russian social media, one of them had recently undergone two surgeries and needed another. The man is missing a finger and moves with crutches.
Others still have postoperative drains or metal stabilizers in their limbs, but are soon to be shipped off to fight. Russians are beginning to question why the disabled are being sent back to war when they may die on the way. The first timid protests have emerged.
Novosibirsk doctor Valery Illarionov organized a one-person protest in the city center, addressing the Ministry of Defense: "Who gave you the right to treat our fathers, sons, brothers, and husbands this way? The war will end, and you will be asked why you maimed our people. No one gave you that right. Soldiers come to us sent to the front on crutches. They say you'll crawl to the battle if you can't walk. What is this? Who creates such an army? It's complete chaos!" he says in a recording.
Theoretically, the reserves amount to about 25 million people who underwent military training as part of compulsory service. However, over two-thirds of them have conditions disqualifying them from frontline service, whether due to age or health issues.
Thus, Russia's Ministry of Defense proposed lowering health requirements for contract soldiers. Even so, there remains a shortage of volunteers. There are now very few volunteers from poor provinces. Penal colonies are now being tapped. Soon, the Kremlin may have to turn to Russians from major cities, who have lived peacefully until now.
