Russia does not officially provide figures regarding the number of soldiers killed or wounded in the war against Ukraine. This information is classified and so far, the authorities have only made occasional statements regarding casualties.
In October 2023, Deputy Minister of Labor and Social Protection Alexei Vovchenko, said that 54% of severely wounded Russian soldiers had had at least one limb amputated, and of these one fifth had required upper limb amputations.
At the end of 2024, Deputy Defense Minister Anna Tsivilyova, who is described by uncensored Russian media outlets as being a relative of Russian President Vladimir Putin, put the total number of war-disabled veterans at 110,000.
War wounded sent back into battle
At the beginning of this year, several videos showing commanders of the Russian army sending wounded soldiers back into battle against Ukraine were shared almost simultaneously on the Russian social network VKontakte. In one case, the soldiers were in a forest and several were moving around on crutches.
In another video, a military policeman could be seen confronting two men in camouflage, one of whom was leaning on a stick. He threatened them with sexual violence.
The authorities later confirmed the incident and said that the man, who had tortured his fellow soldiers with a baton and a stun gun, had been arrested. It turned out that the wounded were temporary soldiers who had complained when their commanders wanted to send them back to the front.
In an official speech, Deputy Defense Minister Tsivilyova said that around 96% of wounded soldiers were returning to the front and the idea was to do this as quickly as possible. She said this was possible “thanks to the modernization of field hospitals.”
This approach could partly indicate a lack of personnel at the front and large losses in the Russian army.
“I would guess that around six in ten wounded soldiers have suffered serious injuries,” a veteran, who wanted to remain anonymous, told DW. He was recently discharged due to his own injuries, which he refrained from disclosing for security reasons. “The main thing is that my arms and legs are intact,” he said, adding that he was currently waiting for a one-off payment of several million rubles.
He said that his disability pension of 22,000 rubles (the equivalent of about €220 or $228) was low. “I’ve become unable to work at the age of 36 and lost my health, but what can I do? I served my country and have no regrets,” he added.
He suspected that the army might be sending wounded soldiers to the front to punish them for drug offenses or faking injuries.
Complaints about lower compensation
Recently, much online dissatisfaction has been directed at the latest presidential decree, which reduced one-off payments for minor injuries from 3 to 1 million rubles. Compensation for other even less severe injuries can no longer exceed 100,000 rubles.
There have been complaints on VKontakte that doctors are playing down injuries. A soldier named Oleg wrote online that doctors had initially classified his injury as moderately severe. “On the day I was discharged, it suddenly became a minor wound. They said there were now new lists and categories,” he said.
Former mercenaries of the private Wagner Group, one of the most brutal units to fight on Russia’s side, have also complained that the Russian state does not recognize them as being participants in the war against Ukraine.
One named Pavel wrote on VKontakte that he could no longer walk due to his injuries and had been “left to his fate.” He said that he received a disability pension from the state of around 10,000 rubles but had been denied payments from the military.
Some users have lamented the high cost of prostheses. One woman from Perm said that her brother, who had fought in the war, could not afford the 5 million rubles needed for a high-quality prosthesis. She said that social benefits only covered a small amount of the costs.
Several regions have registered a shortage of certain prostheses due to international sanctions against the Russian Federation, which is why prices are rising and waiting times are increasing.
Disabled veterans isolated by mainstream society
The historian Aglaya Asheshova, who is based at the University Library of Languages and Civilizations (BULAC) in Paris, France, told DW that one major problem that Russia would face after the war was the reintegration of disabled military personnel into society.
The expert in post-war societies explained that in most countries people who became disabled through war were largely isolated from the mainstream. She speculated that in Russia’s case, the authorities might transfer the care of war-disabled people to the regions, which would make it even more difficult because of limited resources.
Former Russian military officer Nikita Tretyakov wrote on his Telegram channel that war invalids often faced unemployment because few people wanted to hire them. He described the case of a former soldier who had been severely wounded and was refused the position of sales advisor. He had been told at the interview that there was concern for his mental state because he had participated in the war in Ukraine.
According to the sociologist Anna Kuleshova, there are major differences in attitudes towards veterans in Russian society. This was partly due to the political polarization of the population, she told DW, but there were also regional differences: “War invalids are not seen as heroes by everyone but are also viewed with suspicion because people are aware from the news as well as from personal experience that there are cases of military people using violence against civilians.”
A psychiatrist who continues to practice in Russia and, therefore, wanted to remain anonymous, told DW that despite their injuries most of those who had fought in the war were convinced that it was justified. He said this was a defense mechanism, to protect the psyche, that could be observed in veterans of all war. “It enables them to function effectively and to survive under extreme conditions,” he explained, adding that the return to civilian life was always a difficult process, partly because men no longer felt as needed as they had at the front.
This article was originally published in Russian.
