Russian troops (Photo: Reuters/Alexander Ermochenko)
Russia is forming assault units for the war in Ukraine by recruiting
convicted individuals infected with hepatitis B and C, as reported by Ukraine’s Defense Ministry’s
Main Intelligence Directorate (HUR) on Oct. 29.
A directive from Russian Defense Minister Andrei Belousov,
dated Oct. 10, 2024, removes hepatitis C from the list of conditions preventing
individuals from military service.
Russia has also established a special process for organizing
and recruiting hepatitis-infected prisoners. In the directive, those infected
with hepatitis are classified as “Category C.”
According to HUR, before being sent to the front lines,
infected prisoners in colonies are to be vaccinated against hepatitis B and
receive a course of antiviral therapy for hepatitis C.
“According to Russian leaders’ estimates, this new
mobilization decision will enable them to deploy thousands of prisoners in
assault missions against Ukraine,” intelligence officials reported.
It was noted that approximately 10,000 hepatitis-infected
prisoners are held in detention centers and jails within the so-called Central
Military District of the Russian Armed Forces. Of these, around 15% have
volunteered to fight.
Intelligence sources added that the hepatitis-designated
assault companies “B-C” are intended to be stationed in the temporarily
occupied territories of Luhansk and Donetsk oblasts.
Russia’s new wave of mobilization
Former Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu announced
plans in December 2023 to increase the armed forces to 1.5 million service
members.
On April 3, 2024, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy
stated that Russia was preparing to mobilize an additional 300,000 people by
June 1, 2024.
In August, Bild reported that Russia required additional
mobilization due to heavy frontline losses, with men being lured by high pay
and conscripts pressured to sign contracts.
The rate of recruitment for contract soldiers in Russia has
increased sixfold compared to 2023, according to Important Stories, citing
budget data on Sept. 9.
On Sept. 16, Russian dictator Vladimir Putin increased the
authorized strength of the country’s armed forces to 2.389 million personnel,
including 1.5 million service members.
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