Russian Defence Ministry Conceals Data About Military Personnel With Disabilities
- 25.06.2024, 14:08
They are trying to bring them back to the front line.
The Russian Ministry of Defence has concealed data on the number of disabled servicemen. Those crippled in war are being returned to the front line instead of being discharged, frontline soldiers and human rights activists say, writes "We Can Explain".
The statistics were contained in the Unified Interdepartmental Information and Statistical System (UIISS), which reported on those getting military pensions. Now the table shows 0. The data on those who get a pension for loss of breadwinner (it could be used to learn about the growth in the number of dead) have disappeared. The last data is dated 2021, disability pension was paid to 27 thousand people.
The Ministry of Defence data showed an increase in wounded and dead in 2014-2015. In one year of Russia's hybrid war with Ukraine, the number of military pensioners getting the allowance for loss of breadwinner increased by 6 thousand, while the total number of military pensioners rose by 27 thousand to 1 million 130 thousand. Previously, the figures had been declining.
According to official estimates, in the first year of the war, the number of disabled veterans of the war with Ukraine reached 1.5 thousand people (out of 72 thousand veterans of the SMO). Such figures were contained in the presentation of the Defenders of the Fatherland foundation. According to Anna Tsivileva's calculations, 750 thousand Russians will go through the war, and almost 16 thousand people could become disabled - that is, by 70% more than in peaceful 2021. Now the status of veterans of the Defence Ministry, according to the calculations of "We Can Explain" on the basis of the budget-2024, has already been granted to 540 thousand people.
It is easier for the state to "recycle" the wounded at the front than to return them to society, Alexei Tabalov, founder of the "Conscript School", told "We Can Explain". "Firstly, all the demobilised must be replaced by someone. Secondly, there are a lot of problems with them in civilian life: they need to be treated, including for PTSD, adapted to civilian life, and supported. Perhaps the authorities approach this cynically and pragmatically, forcing them to fight to the death".
The Ministry of Defence makes "crippled regiments" out of the wounded, they are "kept like cattle, all of them - wounded, under-treated...!", wrote "Thirteen", a Z-blogger. A wounded fighter has told "We Can Explain" that he lost three fingers, but they tried to send him to the front line again and refused to treat him.