Ukrainian doctors refuse to treat 300 ‘syphilis-ridden’ Russian mercenaries

2023-02-01

Around 300 Russian mercenaries from the notorious Wagner Group were sent to a Ukrainian hospital – but local doctors refused to treat them.

The Wagner Group is a private paramilitary force acting on behalf of Vladimir Putin in Ukraine., being led by Yevgeny Prigozhin, nicknamed 'Putin's Chef'.

Russian forces, including the Wagner Group mercenaries, continue to sustain heavy losses in Ukraine, with Ukrainian military estimates putting the total amount of Russians killed since the invasion began at 127,500 as of January 31.

READ MORE: 'Putin's chef' boasts he's turning prisoners into 'real cannibals' to send to Ukraine

In their daily morning update on Facebook on January 29, the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine reported "the enemy continues to suffer significant losses" and detailed the example of Wagner Group mercenaries in the Luhansk Oblast – a region bordering Russian and occupied by Putin's forces.

The update read: "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."

The Ukrainian military claims that Russians are converting hospitals in occupied regions into military hospitals for their use alone, leaving locals in need of medical aid with nowhere to go.

This issue is said to be compounded by the sheer number of Russians returning from the frontline with injuries.

Many of the Wagner Group's fighters come from Russian prisons. Prigozhin was previously recorded touring prisons, promising lags a pardon from Putin in exchange for six months fighting in Ukraine.

Russia's prison population suffers from infectious diseases such as HIV/AIDS more so than regular citizens, according to Ukrainian news outlet NV.

Ukrainska Pravda previously reported that several convicts-turned-soldiers with HIV or hepatitis are already in Ukrainian captivity.

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