27.05.2026.

‘He’s a man, after all — he’ll manage’

How the Russian military sends wounded soldiers back to die on the front lines

Since the start of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, hundreds of thousands of Russian soldiers have been wounded on the front lines. Under normal circumstances, this would mean they’re no longer considered fit for combat. But according to Russian media outlet Veter, the military’s personnel situation is so dire that injured soldiers are often forcibly sent back into combat before completing treatment. In many cases, they’re never heard from again.

'How’s he going to outrun the drones?’

In May 2023, Ivan D. decided to sign a contract with the Russian Defence Ministry, eager to join the army and “fight for the motherland”. The next year, he was hospitalised for the first time with a shrapnel fragment lodged in his right leg. Ivan had surgery, but could only walk with crutches and was referred for further treatment. Instead, the Russian military sent him back into combat.

In March 2025, Ivan was wounded again. This time, shrapnel pierced his abdomen, damaging his left kidney and small intestine, which forced doctors to remove part of his bowel. He was declared temporarily unfit for combat and sent for treatment in Krasnodar.

Ivan didn’t want to continue fighting, his wife Karina recalls. His family got in touch with a lawyer, who reassured them that it was all but certain Ivan would be discharged.

But the reality turned out quite different. Ivan would have to go through a second round of military medical exams to confirm the necessary legal grounds for discharge.

“It’s all up to the doctors,” explains Sergey Krivenko, the director of human rights group Citizen. Army. Law. “How a patient feels and what the doctor determines may not always align.” Then there’s the fact that hospitals are overflowing with patients. “The goal is to patch [people] up as quickly as possible, free up a bed, and send them back to the front,” says Krivenko.

What’s more, a soldier could have been granted leave for medical treatment and still be branded a draft dodger. If he doesn’t return to his unit on time, he would then be held criminally responsible and receive an arrest warrant. Abandoning one’s post carries a sentence of 10 years in prison.

"The longer the absence, the more severe the charge,” notes Artem Klyga, head of the legal department of the Movement of Conscientious Objectors. Soldiers on medical leave must immediately contact a lawyer if they’re looking to be discharged in order to minimise the charge, Klyga explains. And it’s actually necessary to keep the criminal case open — that’s the only way to access a medical board that can provide a legitimate discharge. That said, the chances of actually receiving a medical discharge remain low.

In December 2025, the police came for Ivan in Krasnodar. “I was at work, while he was home with the kids. He messaged saying that someone had knocked on the door and yanked the doorknob. I told him not to open for anyone,” recalls Ivan’s wife, Karina. “When I got home that night, two police officers were standing in the entrance holding a composite sketch of Ivan.” They told her he was on their wanted list.

Ivan had been officially classified as AWOL. He was taken back to his unit in Yenakiieve in the Russian-occupied Donetsk region, where he was meant to undergo another medical exam. But within a few days, he was sent back to the front.

It seemed obvious Ivan was unfit for combat. “He developed three hernias along his scar line [on his abdomen.] He needs another surgery on his leg,” says Karina. “He can’t walk without crutches, how’s he going to outrun the drones? The deputy commander for political affairs just told me: ‘He’s a man, after all — he’ll manage.’”

‘Am I supposed to grow a new arm?’

Since the start of the war, Veter has documented 218 instances of seriously wounded soldiers being sent back into combat before completing treatment — though the real number is almost certainly far higher. Another 101 soldiers now potentially face the same fate. Over 80% of cases involve soldiers who were coerced to return to the front.

Dmitry Mishin was one of them. While in combat, Dmitry’s arm was blown off by shrapnel. He was deemed “temporarily unfit” and given a period of medical leave. “What, am I supposed to grow a new arm?” said Dmitry.

Like Ivan, he was officially classified as AWOL, taken back to his unit, and sent into combat. He was never heard from again.

These aren’t isolated cases. Entire groups of wounded soldiers have been sent into combat. While preparing for discharge, a group of at least 14 injured soldiers — on crutches, with wounded arms, or with plates in their heads — were sent on an assault operation in August 2025. When Veter attempted to contact them, their messages went unread.

'It’s obvious they’re never coming back’

In January 2024, Daniil received a military summons and signed a contract with the Russian Defence Ministry. He had gone to the military recruitment centre voluntarily to avoid being put on a wanted list.

The following summer, Daniil was hit by a Ukrainian bomber drone while stationed in Pokrovsk. Severely wounded, Daniil spent three days crawling to the nearest field medic. His legs had started to rot from the heat. He was then evacuated to Rostov-on-Don and taken by helicopter to the Murmansk region, where he spent several months recovering at a military hospital. Medical exams showed that he had displaced vertebrae and would be unable to lift heavy objects. A doctor told him his pelvic bone would never fully heal. Despite this, Daniil was deemed only temporarily unfit for combat.

"We thought they would discharge him after that, given that one wrong move could put him in a wheelchair," his wife, Viktoria, recalls.

Daniil expected to undergo the medical exam and be declared unfit for duty. But on 22 December 2025, he was taken back to the front.

The deputy commander for political affairs didn’t answer her calls. She started calling the unit's hotline instead. On 31 December they told her he was on active duty. When she called back on 7 January, he had been reported missing.

"They’re sending them to be wiped out,” Daniil's wife concludes. “Where else would they take people like that — on crutches, broken and battered? It's obvious they’re never coming back.”

Four months went by before Viktoria heard any news. Finally, in April 2026, after multiple phone calls, the deputy commander for political affairs told her that Daniil had most likely been killed. But as long as combat was ongoing, it would be impossible to recover his body.

‘The army can’t afford to let people think there’s a way out’

Sending injured soldiers back into combat is a bureaucratic issue that predates the full-scale invasion of Ukraine, says Sergey Krivenko. “The army only looks at documents, paperwork,” he explains. “If there’s a document that shows someone has been through the military medical evaluation and he’s fit for duty, that’s it. No one cares about the reality of the situation.”

Instead of looking after soldiers’ rights, the military prosecutor’s office is primarily concerned with pleasing the government, Krivenko explains. “It's every man for himself.”

“That’s why the only possibility to avoid military service is resistance,” he continues. “This requires the soldier to be proactive, file complaints with the military prosecutor’s office and obtain an independent medical examination.”

Part of the reluctance to send injured soldiers for medical review may come down to money. Those wounded in combat are entitled to a lump sum of around three million rubles (€36,093), monthly payments, and an insurance payout. The military has little incentive to make that process easy. The burden falls on soldiers to prove their injuries were sustained in combat rather than pre-existing conditions, explains Veter.

“It’s not that the army benefits from having amputees serve,” says Artem Klyga. “It's that it can’t afford to let people think there’s a way out.”

Yulia Myagkova