The order is directed at Russia's Ministry of Defense and is highly controversial.
To cover the significant losses on the battlefield in Ukraine, Putin has decided that disabled individuals should be sent to war.
This is reported by the newspaper Kyiv Post.
"Russia is establishing so-called 'handicap units'. Soldiers with severe injuries and illnesses are being called into the armed forces," the newspaper emphasizes.
These units have already started to take shape.
At the end of November, the Russian Ministry of Defense proposed changes to the medical examination procedure for army recruitment.
The new changes, in short, mean that severely injured and sick individuals can be sent to the war in Ukraine.
"Consequently, Russian conscripts who have sustained injuries are being sent back to the front line without undergoing a military medical examination or receiving adequate medical care," Kyiv Post reports.
Testimonies Strengthen Claims
The information from Kyiv Post is confirmed by several testimonies.
One such example comes from the relatives of soldier Mikhail, who was injured by shrapnel in April 2023.
He still has an infected hole in his leg that is getting bigger every day, his wife tells the newspaper.
Despite the injury, Mikhail has passed a medical examination and is therefore being sent back to the front.
The soldier's wife is horrified by the situation.
"Cripples are being sent back to the front – limping, crooked, and toothless. They receive no treatment. They (the Putin regime) have only one goal – to end this as quickly as possible," she says to Kyiv Post, adding indignantly:
"In 14 months, my handsome man has turned into an old, sick man. They have destroyed both him and his wife."
Cried on the Phone
Another testimony comes from 36-year-old soldier Andrei, who suffered serious internal organ damage to his pelvis after being shot.
The soldier has undergone ten surgeries and spent over three months in the hospital. According to Andrei's mother, he is severely mobility impaired.
Despite this, a doctor has decided that he is fit enough to be sent back to the war.
"He called me and cried when he received the decision," the mother tells Kyiv Post.
