Ukraine doctors refuse to treat sick Russian mercenaries

Ukrainian doctors are refusing to provide medical care to Russian mercenaries as many of them reportedly carry serious diseases, according to a Facebook statement from the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine (GSAFU). The statement was posted on the social media site on Saturday.

"The enemy continues to suffer significant losses. Thus, up to 300 mercenaries of the so-called 'Wagner Group' private military company were delivered for treatment to the 15th Yuvileyny city hospital (Luhansk oblast). Due to the fact that most of them are carriers of such diseases as HIV/AIDS, syphilis, tuberculosis and pneumonia, local medics refuse to provide mercenaries with medical care."

A link to a YouTube video of Oleksandr Shtupun, the spokesperson for the GSAFU, speaking to the camera accompanied the post. The post itself is the transcript of the speech. 

The Wagner Group is a Russian paramilitary group run and funded by Yevgeny Prigozhin, the supposed head of the Russian "troll farm," the Internet Research Agency.

Last week the independent Russian outlet Meduzza reported that of the total 50,000, 40,000 Wagner group troops are killed, missing, deserted or surrendered. This figure represents 80% of the mercenary group's total strength.

The group has previously been accused of fighting in Syria in support of Bashar al Assad's regime. Additionally, The Jerusalem Post reported that the group has been accused of rape, torture and extrajudicial killings in sub-Saharan Africa.

The US recently designated the group as an international criminal organization.

Who are the members of the Wagner Group?

The group is comprised of conscripted or enlisted criminals, many of whom suffer from various debilitating diseases such as hepatitis and HIV according to the Ukrainian Defense Ministry.

Last week, the ministry released a report wherein they claimed that over 100 captured Wagner Group prisoners had HIV/AIDS or hepatitis.

Colored wristbands have been given to captured sick Wagner Group fighters in order to identify which disease(s) they carry. Different colors represent different illnesses. For instance, a red wristband represents HIV, and a white one represents hepatitis.

That Ukrainian doctors would refuse to treat infected prisoners of war is not unique. The Ukrainian Defense Ministry has previously claimed that even Russian medics had been refusing to treat infected Wagner Group soldiers.

Infections such as HIV are transferred through blood. An injured soldier who is infected with such as disease could thus effectively be seen by a medic as a biohazard.