Adjustments based on military experience: Why does the Ministry of Defense want to introduce even more restrictions for new contract soldiers?

The Ministry of Defense has proposed expanding the list of illnesses that prohibit a soldier from signing a contract during mobilization. The new list of illnesses includes 35 points. The previous one, approved in 2023, consisted of 26.

NeMoskva compared the two documents. At first glance, many of the items present in the old list are formulated in more detail in the second, and general diagnoses have been replaced with specific consequences of illnesses. Far more important are the dozen new items covering the consequences of injuries and participation in combat.

"It's clear that this adjustment was made because the previous regulations didn't address combat operations and were adopted in a situation where people were sent to war as conscripts rather than being called up to serve under contract," says surgeon Andrei Volna.

Another reason for expanding the list, which Volna cited in a conversation with NeMoskva, is a legal clarification aimed at protecting people with serious illnesses and the consequences of injuries. But this is not being done out of humanitarian considerations.

"Very often, the people who sign the contract are marginalized, people with alcoholism or severe chronic illnesses," the expert explains. "They're pushed into war—and, naturally, they die immediately. The state is forced to pay out large amounts of compensation to those who support the dead."

Volna believes corruption is also possible. For example, military doctors often demand a bribe to classify someone as fit or partially fit. This is especially true for those who have already served in the war, been wounded, and paid a large sum of money for it.

"Now we can talk about closing a major corruption loophole and, indeed, clarifying all these points based on the military actions that are being conducted and their results, which are deplorable for human physical condition."