Last edited Wed Dec 3, 2025, 11:37 AM - Edit history (1)
Those enlisted from prison may already carry not just HIV, but hepatitis, TB and other highly contagious diseases. Those who were not prisoners but had injected drug problems add to the tally. Those enlisted from the occupied territories of Donetsk and Luhansk are likely to have had little or no access to public health services since Putin's invasion and may have had to cope with extended periods of poor hygiene and restricted or non-existent water supplies. The same may apply to those from certain areas of Russia far away from the conflict. They certainly don't escape those conditions on the fronts, and there are few or no countermeasures if carriers survive to return home for leave or de-enlistment.
A diagnosis with certain diseases is supposed to be a get out of jail free card for enlistment and deployment, but some servicemen conceal their illnesses because they need the money, and given the pressures to constantly repopulate the ranks, not only do the authorities often turn a blind eye or outright ignore the problems, but some infected soldiers are being consigned to special units made up of sufferers from HIV and other diseases. They may be declared fit only for restricted duties or just consigned to the front like everyone else. They may wear an armband denoting their status, but that's just about the only measure taken.
More here:
Russia’s War Against Ukraine Has Seen an Explosion in HIV Rates - https://carnegieendowment.org/russia-eurasia/politika/2025/07/russia-war-hiv-epidemic?lang=en
Germ warfare: The spread of chronic diseases in the Russian army is rapidly becoming an epidemic threatening society as a whole - https://novayagazeta.eu/articles/2025/09/12/germ-warfare-en
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