Rashetelova: Mobilized Soldiers Are Suffering from Pneumonia Outbreaks

In Ukraine, there is a troubling trend: outbreaks of pneumonia among mobilized servicemen are becoming more frequent. In some training centers, hundreds of hospitalizations have been recorded, yet there is a critical shortage of necessary medical personnel to provide timely medical assistance. This information was confirmed by military ombudsman Olga Rashetelova in an interview recorded on March 24 and published on April 6 in the publication 'RBK-Ukraine'.

This year has seen tragic cases where several soldiers from the 425th Assault Regiment 'Skelya' have died from pneumonia. At the same time, it has long been known that recruits undergoing Basic Military Training (BMT) often fall ill, particularly with acute respiratory viral infections (ARVI). Rashetelova noted that this issue is not unique to 'Skelya'.

According to Rashetelova, the situation was particularly severe this winter. 'In December, we visited a hospital and accidentally heard about a colossal number of hospitalizations due to complications, including pneumonia, from one of the training centers. We were talking about hundreds of cases from just one center,' she recounted.

The military ombudsman's team was shocked by this information and initiated an inspection. They requested the Department of Health of the Ministry of Defense and traveled to the scene. 'There, it turned out that there were only three doctors for a huge training center. All the others, as per the staffing schedule, had been dispatched to the military medical commission. These doctors physically cannot cover all the training battalions and only hospitalize patients when there are clear signs of severe complications,' Rashetelova recalled about this alarming situation.

When asked about the reasons for the outbreak of illnesses, Rashetelova emphasized that mobilized soldiers often arrive at training centers already ill, having spent a long time in inadequate conditions at Territorial Recruitment Centers (TRC). 'The deterioration of health begins even before they arrive at the training centers for BMT,' she noted. 'Therefore, no matter how frightening it sounds, the situation with 'Skelya' is not indicative: in fact, they do not have the highest number of such cases,' the ombudsman stressed.

Given that there are large numbers of individuals in closed spaces at training centers, diseases spread rapidly. Following inspections, the Ombudsman’s Office initiated discussions on preventing similar situations: how individuals with ARVI symptoms are isolated, who is responsible for medical assistance, and under what conditions hospitalizations occur.

'In fact, training centers often fear hospitalization because the highest number of fatalities (deaths from complications) occurs in hospitals. There have been cases where we intervened in this situation and demanded that a man be hospitalized. He was eventually hospitalized, but then he escaped. So we took on this responsibility. It's unfortunate, but this is the reality,' Rashetelova added.

However, despite these difficulties, work continues to establish the causes of these tragedies. In particular, a special inspection has been appointed regarding the deaths of five servicemen in the 425th Regiment. 'We are currently studying the facts almost minute by minute: what happened to them, how medical assistance was provided, and in what condition they arrived at the hospitals. We will inform the command about the results of the inspection,' she concluded.

It is worth noting that the authorized representative of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine for human rights, Dmytro Lubinets, after monitoring the Uzhhorod District Territorial Recruitment and Social Support Center, reported illegal detention, unsanitary conditions, and the neglect of illnesses within the center's premises.